Imhotep's First Love
by HellHound-1997
Summary: Rose is Evelyn's and Jonathan's younger sister. This is a story of her and Imhotep. Sorry, I'm bad at Summaries.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing from the Mummy franchise but this plot and my OC.

THEBES - 2,134 B.C

 _In Thebes, the City of the Living; the Crown jewel of Pharaoh Seti the First. A beautiful Arabian horse-drawn Chariot comes barrelling through an elegant pathway, driven by Pharaoh Seti I; an aristocratic, virile older man._

 _On Anck-su-namun's balcony window in the palace at dusk. Glaring out over the city at the setting sun is a handsome, muscular man with intense, sinful eyes. This is the home of Imhotep, High Priest of Osiris, Keeper of the Dead._

 _A gorgeous, olive-skinned goddess strolls through the outer foyer. Her entire body is naked though it has been painted in curved lines and scale like pattens. She's a stunning sight to behold. The birthplace of Anck-su-namun. The Pharaoh's mistress. No other man was allowed to touch her. She makes her way through the ornate statuary walkway. There stands the Priest of Osiris; Imhotep's followers. Their eyes watch Anck-su-namun vanish through the silken bedroom curtains. She embraces Imhotep, as they kiss passionately, feverishly; Imhotep's hands roam over her perfect body, smearing the paint._

 _But for their love, they were willing to risk life itself. On the other-side of the curtains, the Priest rush over and close the doors. But just as they do, the doors suddenly burst open. The Pharaoh angrily strides in, looking at the Priest._

" _ **What are you doing here?**_ _"_ _Seti_ _sharply bellows._

 _The Priest back away, scared beyond belief, his arrival was unexpected. The Pharaoh strides for the silk curtains throwing them back. He sees Anck-su-namun standing alone. She gives him a sultry smile. Seti sees that her body paint has been smeared and points his finger._

" _ **WHO HAS TOUCHED YOU?!**_ _"_ _He sharply roars._

 _From behind him, his sword is ripped out of its scabbard. The Pharaoh reels around: It's Imhotep. Seti is astounded._

" _ **Imhotep?... My priest.**_ _"_ _In a weak voice the Pharaoh gas_ _p_ _ed._

 _Behind him, Anck-su-namun lifts a dagger and plunges it into his back,_ _t_ _he Pharaoh screams, Imhotep raises Pharaoh's sword. The hideous Priest slam the doors and bolt them tight. Through the curtains, they see the shadows of Anck-su-namun and Imhotep stab away at Pharaoh. Suddenly, the_ _doors are rammed from the other side, WHAM! Imhotep and Anck-su-namun turn and look. WHAM! The doors are rammed again. The two lovers share_ _desperate looks. WHAM! The bald Priest run up_ _past the curtain_ _and grab Imhotep try_ _ing_ _to_ _pull him towards the balcony._

" _ **Pharaoh's bodyguards!**_ _"_ _The Priest hiss._

 _Imhotep tries to break free, but Anck-su-namun rips Pharaoh's sword out of his hand and pushes him towards the balcony._

" _ **You must go. Save yourself.**_ _ **Only you can resurrect me.**_ _"_ _She tenderly reassures him._

 _Imhotep's face fills with despair_ _as the_ _doors explode open. Men with blue-tinted skin and strange puzzle like tattoos all over their bodies stride in, armed to the teeth;_ _t_ _hese are the Medjai. The Priest hustle Imhotep out onto the dark balcony just as the Medjai rip through the curtains. Anck-su-namun points at Pharaoh and hisses_ _"_ _ **My body is no longer his temple!**_ _"_ _As s_ _he plunges the sword into her own heart._ _O_ _ut on the balcony, Imhotep's mouth opens into a horrible silent scream._ _Feeling the pain of losing yet another love to early death._

 _As Imhotep_ _raced deep into the desert taking Anck-su-namun's corpse to Hamunaptra,_ _the_ _city of the dead;_ _an_ _ancient burial site for the sons of Pharaohs and resting place for the wealth of Egypt._ _Although Anck-su-namun was not_ _Imhotep'_ _s first love, he still_ _dared the Gods' anger by going deep into the city where he took the black_ _B_ _ook_ _O_ _f_ _T_ _he_ _D_ _ead from its holy resting place. Anck-su-namun's soul had been sent to the dark underworld her vital organs removed and placed in five sacred canopic jars._

 _As Imhotep begins to read from The Book of The Dead, a large swirling hole starts to open in the detritus bog. Several Priest look over at it, frightened, then quickly look back down and to resume chanting. A strange mist wafts up out of the swirling hole and over to the jars, it passes through them and into Anck-su-namun's body. One of the jars shudders, the heart_ _inside it begins to beat again. The chanting Priest, swirling hole, wafting mist, beating heart and Imhotep's readings reach a crescendo. Anck-su-namun's eyes suddenly fly open._

 _Anck-su-namun soul had come back from the dead! As Imhotep lifts a sacrificial knife above Anck-su-namun's breast, about to plunge it down. As the chanting, swirling and beating heart reached there climax. The Pharaoh's bodyguards that had followed Imhotep, burst in and storm through the startled Priest, stop Imhotep before the ritual could be completed. The mist instantly sucks back out of Anck-su-namun's body and implodes back into the swirling hole. Anck-su-namun's eyes close. Dying once again, Imhotep screams in rage. The Medjai grab him and his Priest._

 _Imhotep's Priest were condemned to be mummified alive. Inside a torch-lit necropolis chamber, Imhotep is held by Anubis-headed embalmers. He cringes at the flickering, impressionistic glimpses of his Priest being embalmed and mummified alive. The horrid-looking Embalmers, using knives, needles and thread, calmly perform their ghastly surgery on the_ _screaming_ _Priest, who are going insane from the procedure._ _A red hot poker is pulled out of a pit of burning coals._ _A Priest's head is wedged between two strong boards. His eyes widen in terror as an Embalmer moves to insert the red hot poker up his nose, the Priest screams._ _All twenty-one of Imhotep's Priest squirm_ _inside their wrappings._

 _As for Imhotep, he was condemned to endure the Hom-Dai. The worst of all ancient curses._ _O_ _ne so horrible, it had never before been bestowed. Imhotep is forced to his knees. His arms are held back. His mouth is pried open. Using a pair of tongs, an Embalmer slowly pulls Imhotep's_ _tongue_ _out of his mouth, then places a very sharp knife on top of it. As his tongue is_ _slowly_ _cut out. Imhotep is wrapped up, he squirms. He's then laid in a stone coffin inside a stone Sarcophagus. An Embalmer with a bucket steps up and looks into the coffin. The Embalmer empties the bucket over Imhotep's chest: dozens of scarabs, disgusting dung beetles. They scurry across Imhotep's bandaged wrapped body. The lid to the coffin is slammed shut. Then, using a strange four-sided key, the Head Medjai locks the coffin lid tight. The heavy sarcophagus lid_ _is shoved into place and with a loud_ **WHOOSH** _seals itself airtight. Once_ _again, the Head Medjai uses the strange key, locking the sarcophagus lid tight. He was to remain sealed inside_ _his_ _sarcophagus, the undead for all of eternity._ _The Medjai would never allow him to be released. For he would arise a walking disease, a plague upon mankind, an unholy_ _f_ _lesh-eater, with the strength of ages, power over the sands, and the glory of invincibility._

 _Imhotep's horrifying tongue-less screams can be heard coming from inside his sarcophagus as grave diggers shovel dirt onto it. The heavily armed Medjai stand guard around Imhotep's grave. Looking down on the burial site is the huge statue of ANUBIS, the jackal-headed god of death._

Then begins to decay, aging 4159 years. The decrepit, half-buried statue of Anubis sitting out in the middle of the desert. As Imhotep's horrifying screams become the screams of the Tuareg horseman. Racing across the desert with two thousand of his warrior brethren as they are armed to the teeth.

In the Sahara desert in the year 1925, a mile across the scorching desert, two hundred French foreign legionnaires scurry through the ruins; preparing for the onslaught. O'Connell O'Connell is up on the wall with his Kepi as it sits at a jaunty angle. Dashing and handsome, he looks out at the massive screaming horde galloping at him.

"I knew this was gonna be a lousy day." He tensely declared. A doughy little Frenchman named Beni joins O'Connell as he makes his way across the top of the wall.

"Personally, I would like to surrender. Why can we not just surrender?" The french man stammered.

"Shut-up and gimme your bandolier." Beni pulls off his cartridge belt and hands it to O'Connell.

"Then let's run away. Right now. While we can still make it." O'Connell throws it on, crisscrossing his own bandolier. Ignoring Beni's feeble urging.

"Now gimme your revolver, you'll never use it anyway." Beni pulls out his pistol and chucks it to O'Connell.

"Then let's play dead, huh? Nobody ever does that anymore." O'Connell slides it into his belt, next to his own revolver.

"Now go find me a big stick." O'Connell harshly rebuked.

"In the desert? What for?" Beni naively questions. O'Connell turns and goes nose-to-nose with him.

"So I can tie it to your back, you appear to be without a spine." O'Connell fiercely sneered at Beni. The horde of warriors thunders forward now no more than half mile out. Scimitars rattling, O'Connell and Beni run through the ruins.

"How'd a guy like you end up in the Legion anyways?" He calmly asks.

"I got caught robbing a synagogue. Lots of good stuff in them holy places; churches, temples, mosques, and who's guarding them?" Beni questioned slyly. "Altar boys?" Answered O'Connell smoothly.

"Exactly! I speak seven languages, including Hebrew, so my speciality was synagogues. How about you? Kill somebody?" Beni asks while triping and accidentally tackles O'Connell to the ground. O'Connell gives him a nasty look.

"No, but I'm considering it." They get up and run out the gate and down the stone ramp

"What then? Robbery? Extortion? Kidnapping!" Beni lively exclaims.

"None of the above, thank you"

"Then what the hell are you doing here!?" They both skid to a stop at the front line as they see the horde of warriors. The sound of charging horses is deafening. As O'Connell gives Beni a big cheesy smile. "I was just looking for a good time."

And that's when the cowardly Legionnaire Colonel suddenly panics, cuts and runs. O'Connell instantly stiffens. "Oh shit Steady!" O'Connell exclaimed. This gives the men around him courage. But onward comes the horde Hoofs pounding the sand and several more Legionnaires take off.

"STEADY!" He yells and then mutters to himself "What the hell am I sayin'?" The Tuaregs let loose with horrifying long screams. More Legionnaires haul-ass. Beni is one of them.

"STEADY!"He yells, and then mutters to himself once again."What the hell am I doin'?"

The Tuaregs set their rifles and take aim. O'Connell steels himself, cocks and locks. The cartridge in his mouth suddenly snaps, he spits it into the sand. A thunderous beat of his heart hammers through his chest. And then...

"Fire!"

The Legionnaires on the ground fire. The rifles report with a deafening crash. The blast blows dozens of Tuaregs clean off their mounts. The prone Legionnaires quickly begin to reload.

"Fire!"

The kneeling Legionnaires fire. More Tuaregs bite the sand as the remaining warriors open fire. Thunder and smoke rip through the hot air. A third of the Legionnaires are killed instantly.

"Fire!"

The remaining standing Legionnaires fire. Tuaregs spin off their mounts; crashing to the sand. And then the entire Tuareg force plows into the ruins and through the Legionnaires. O'Connell grabs the barrel of his rifle and starts clubbing riders off their steeds, fighting like a man possessed. Beni on the other hand, is belly crawling across the sand, whimpering in full retreat as Legionnaires fall dead all around him. He crawls through the front gate. O'Connell throws his rifle down and goes for his guns. He cross-draws, a gun in each hand, and starts blowing riders off their mounts. Beni crawls faster, and then he spots an open temple doorway amongst the rocks. He gets up and sprints for the door as the last of the Legionnaires are shot off their feet behind him and O'Connell's guns go empty.

"Son-of-a-bitch." He turns and runs like hell, right through the front gate. Four Tuareg warriors on massive Arabian horses haul-ass after him. O'Connell hurdles over a stone column and, hits the ground running. He spots Beni inside the Temple doorway, trying to close the heavy sandstone door.

"Hey! Beni! Wait up!" Though Beni has no intention of waiting up, he pushes harder.

"What are ya doing?! Wait up!" O'Connell runs faster and Beni pushes harder. The four Horsemen leap the big column and charge after him. Hoofs pounding.

"Don't you close that door! DON'T YOU CLOSE THAT DOOR!" Beni closes the door just as O'Connell reaches it. O'Connell slams his body into the door. It doesn't budge "I'm gonna get you for this!"

He turns and bolts off around the rocks. Running for his life, while weaving through the ruins. The Arabians getting closer and closer. The pounding hoofs getting louder and louder. O'Connell finally spins around and faces his attackers. The four massive horses crash to a stop in front of him. The vicious Tuaregs raise their rifles to finish him off. O'Connell just stands there, exhausted and beaten, then he slowly lifts his right hand and gives them the bird. And that's when the horses lose control. All four of them rear up, two of the Riders are thrown to the ground. The horses screech and bellow and snort in fear, then buck like fury and haul-ass away as if the devil himself had scared them. The thrown Riders get up and race off after their mounts. O'Connell just stands there, stunned, then he lifts his right hand and checks out his middle finger. And then he feels the evil himself, and turns around. The shattered, decrepit statue of Anubis stares back at him. Suddenly, the sand begins to shift under O'Connell's feet. He starts to back away, keeping his eyes on the transforming sand, it looks like huge snakes are wiggling and writhing beneath it, forming lines and shapes, drawing a picture. O'Connell quickly turns and runs off through the ruins. The sand stops moving, and the drawing in the sand, is a picture of Imhotep's screaming face.

Upon a ridge, a group of riders watch O'Connell stumble clear of the decrepit city. O'Connell feels their presence and looks up. They are very different from the Tuaregs, they have blue tinted skin and faces covered in strange puzzle-tattoos. The Medjai. Still watching Imhotep's grave after all this time. The Medjai leader is a huge, fierce man in black robes, with dual scimitars across his waist. His face is both handsome and horrible, blue and tattooed. Ardeth Bay. His dark eyes watch as O'Connell stagger off into the open desert...


	2. Chapter 2

Cairo, a city so old the stars have actually changed their positions in the sky since it's birth. A city teeming with every form of life. A strange, mysterious, wonderful city.

At the Cairo Museum Of Antiquities, deep in the bowels of the museum lie the stacks. Rows upon rows of towering bookshelves. Filled with literature on the Antiquities. Standing at the top of a tall ladder between two of these rows and leaning against one of the bookshelves, is a rather uninteresting British girl: hazel eyes covered by glasses, chestnut coloured hair-in-a-bun, long boring off cream dress, your typical prudish nightmare. Evelyn pulls a book out from a stack under her arm, blows the dust off it, then places it on a shelf with other books whose titles all begin with the letter "O". Then she grabs another book out from under her arm and reads the title aloud. "Tuthmosis?...Now how did you get up here?"

Carefully, so as not to lose her balance, she looks over her shoulder to the bookshelf behind her, where all the titles begin with the letter 'T'. Then she looks down. It's a long way to the bottom. Evelyn gently sets the other books down on the top shelf, then turns and gingerly starts to reach across the aisle with the Tuthmosis book. It's a little too far, so she stretches, reaching, holding the top of the ladder with her fingertips; she's almost got it, closer now closer. When the ladder pulls away from the shelf. Evelyn yelps, flinging the Tuthmosis book and grabs the top of the ladder, which stands straight up. Evelyn holds her breath, swaying precariously, and then she loses her balance, the ladder swings around and Evelyn starts stiltwalking down the aisle.

"OHEIUGM! AHHHHHH!" Evelyn loudly cries out.

The ladder crosses the aisle, does an about face and heads back the way it came. Evelyn clings to the top, struggling for balance. The ladder teeters out into the main aisle and picks up speed. Evelyn screams as it does a 180 degree spin into another aisle and finally crashes to a stop at the top of a book shelf. Evelyn holds her breath, then sighs heavily. And that's when the bookshelf falls away from her and crashes into the next bookshelf. Evelyn slides down the ladder and plops to the floor. She looks up just as the domino effect kicks-in: each bookshelf crashing into the next. And onward it goes. Bookshelf after bookshelf. Thousands of volumes flinging off shelves and scattering across the floor. It finally ends as the last shelf crashes into a wall. Evelyn's eyes are closed. She opens one eye. Looks left. Then right. Then opens the other eye and stares at the huge mess.

"Oops." She quietly mutters.

At that moment the Egyptian Curator storms in. "Look at this! Sons of the Messiah! Give me frogs, flies, locusts, Anything but this! Compared to you, the other plagues were a joy!"

Evelyn quickly gets up and starts gathering books."I'm sorry, it was an accident."

"When Ramesses destroyed Syria, it was an accident. You are a catastrophe! Why do I put up with you?"

Evelyn turns to him, trying to contain herself. "You put up with me, because I can read and write Ancient Egyptian, decipher hieroglyphs and hieratics, and I'm the only person within a thousand miles who knows how to properly code and catalogue this library."

"I put up with you because your mother and father were our finest patrons, Allah rest their souls. Now straighten up this mess!' The Curator storms out. Evelyn just stands there, steaming.

And then she hears a noise and quickly turns around. "Hello?" Quiet. Eerie. And then she hears it again, like feet, slowly shuffling across the floor, coming from a nearby gallery.

"Abdul? Mohammed? Bob?" Evelyn walks through the stacks and enters The Ramses Museum. Filled with treasures and plunder from the Middle Kingdom. It's very dark and quiet in there, the only light is from flickering torches at either end of the spooky gallery.

The noise sounds again! From the far side of the room. Feet, slowly shuffling, plodding across the floor. Evelyn grabs a torch. Looks around, at a statue of Anubis, another of Horus, they stare down at Evelyn, who is starting to get scared now. She walks down the aisle. Past a closed sarcophagus. Past cases of ancient artifacts. Past another sarcophagus, only this one is open! Evelyn freezes, swallows hard, nervously looks around to see who could have opened it. Then she slowly leans forward with the torch, and peers inside.

A hideous rotted mummy sits up and screeches at her! Evelyn screams, drops the torch and backs away, scared out of her wits. And then, coming from inside the sarcophagus, she hears two people laughing. Her eyes narrow as a foppish cad and a lithe young woman crawl out from behind the Mummy, laughing their asses off, half drunk.

"You... ! YOU... !"

"Drunkard? Fool? Rat-bastard? Please call me something original." Jonathan slurs. As he crawls out of the sarcophagus, Evelyn pulls a cigarette out of the mummy's mouth.

Jonathan is roughly average height, with a swimmer build, he has tawny hair that is unruly curly, and bright blue eyes. The woman inside the sarcophagus with him has ashy brown hair, with mahogany colored eyes. A quiet giggle sounds from the woman, "Come now, sister. No need to pick on little ol' Jonathan."

"Have you no respect for the dead?" She asks Jonathan after ignoring her younger sister Rose's comment.

"Right now, I only wish to join them." Both woman look at him sadly. He grins drunkenly. Evelyn decides that she has pitied him enough, so she punches him hard in the chest.

"Well I wish you'd do it sooner rather than later, before you ruin my career the way you've ruined yours." She coolly declared. Rose shakes her head saying nothing at her older siblings.

"My dear, sweet, baby sister, I'll have you know, that at this moment my career is on a high note." He belches, then falls back and sits on the edge of a tomb. Rose placing a hand on his back to make sure he doesn't hurt himself in his drunken state.

"High note? Ha! For five years you've been scrounging around Egypt, and what have you to show for it? Nothing." Evelyn quips.

Jonathan excitedly starts scrounging around in his jacket. "Oh yes I do! I have something right here!"

"Oh no, not another worthless trinket, Jonathan, if I bring one more piece of junk to the Curator to try and sell for you." Both woman look at him apprehensively. Jonathan pulls out a small, ancient box; the collapsed key to Imhotep's sarcophagus and coffin. Evelyn is instantly curious, she grabs the box out of his hand.

"Where did you get this?" Evelyn breathlessly gasped. Rose pears over her sister shoulder, staring down at the box. Jonathan knows her weaknesses, gives her a mischievous smile.

"On a dig, down in Thebes" Rose raises an eyebrow at Jonathan's comment,"When did you go to Thebes?" Evelyn rolls the box around in her hands, mumbling to herself as she translates the hieratic and hieroglyphs covering it. Jonathan licks his lips in anticipation.

"My whole life I've never found anything, Evy. Tell me I've found something." Rose looks at her big brother sorely. Evelyn's fingers play with the various little slats on the box, shifting them this way and that way, it's like a puzzle box. Then suddenly, it unfolds itself, almost-mechanically, opening up. Sitting inside the open box is a folded piece of golden papyrus. An ancient map.

"Jonathan?" She gleefully announces. Roses eyes widen at the map on Evy's lap.

"Yes?" He gently mutters.

"I think you found something." Both woman quietly say at the say time.

In the Curator office, he sits at his desk, staring through a jeweler's eyepiece at the box. Evelyn hovers behind him, excited. Rose sits off to the side watching her two siblings chatter delightedly with the Curator.

"See the cartouche there, it's the official royal seal of Seti the First, I'm sure of it" Evy prattles on.

"Perhaps" The Curator remarked in a vexed tone. Rose narrows her eyes at the man in suspicion.

Jonathan leans in from across the desk. "Two questions. Who the hell is Seti the First? And was he rich?"

"He was the last Pharaoh of the Old Kingdom, said to be the wealthiest Pharaoh of them all." Evelyn bubbly gushed.

"He was very rich, Jonathan. Like God level wealthy." Rose responds at the same time as Evelyn.

"Alright, good, that's good. I like this fellow, like him very much." Jonathan states. The Curator picks up the map.

"I've already dated it, this map is almost four thousand years old. And the hieratics over here..." Evy breathlessly sighs,"It's Hamunaptra."

The Curator freezes, suddenly very nervous, then he recovers. "My dear girl, don't be ridiculous, we are scholars, not treasure hunters. Hamunaptra is a myth." Rose opens her eyes wider at the Curators slip up, before nodding her head, understanding that her sister is right. The map does lead to Hamunaptra.

"Are we talking about the Hamunaptra?" Jonathan's eyes comically widen.

"No, Jonathan. Not THE Hamunaptra. The secondary Hamunaptra, you know the one near Fiji." Rose comments sarcastically.

"Yes. The City of The Dead. Where the early Pharaohs were said to have hidden the wealth of Egypt." Evelyn responds to his question ignoring Roses sarcasm.

"Right, right, in a big underground treasure chamber. Everybody knows the story. The entire necropolis was rigged to sink into the sand. On Pharaoh's command, a flick of the switch! And the whole place could disappear beneath the dunes." Jonathan states as his eyes glaze over thinking of the gold. Rose shakes her head good naturally at her brother.

"All we know is that the city mysteriously vanished around 2,134 B.C." The Curator holds the map closer to the burning candle-lamp. Rose starts to stand up and grab the map from the Curator.

"As the Americans would say: it's all fairy tales and hokum." The map 'accidentally,' catches on fire. The Curator throws it to the floor. Jonathan drops to his knees and quickly puts it out. Lifts it up. The left third of the map is now missing. Rose glares at the curator knowing that he burned the map intentionally.

"You burned it! You burned off the part with the lost city!" Jonathan wails

"It's for the best, I'm sure. Many men have wasted their lives in the foolish pursuit of Hamunaptra, no one has ever found it, most have never returned."

Jonathan cries devastate, "You killed my map."

I'm sure it was a fake, anyway, I'm surprised at you, Miss Carnahan, to be so fooled." The Curator reaches for the box. Evelyn quickly snatches it off the desk; her and Rose give him a very angry, suspicious look.

Cairo prison. One of the worst hell holes on earth, every low-life form of scumbag can be found here. The Warden, a first rate scumbag himself, escorts Evelyn, Rose and Jonathan across the gallows courtyard. Evelyn whispers to Jonathan. "You told me you found it on a dig down in Thebes!"

"I was mistaken." He relies to her statement.

"You lied to me!"

"I lie to everybody, what makes you so special?"

"We are your sisters."

"Honestly Evy, We should have expected something like this." Rose answers her sister.

"That just makes you more gullible." Rose shakes her head a his comment, knowing that it is sadly true.

"You stole it from a drunk at the local Casbah?!"

"Picked his pocket, actually." Rose gives her brother an impressed look

The Warden ushers Evelyn, Rose and Jonathan into the holding pen. "And what is he in prison for?" Evelyn asks.

"I did not know, so when I heard you were coming, I asked him that myself."

"And what did he say?" Rose questions.

"He said,...he was just looking for a good time." The interior cell door bursts open. O'Connell is in chains, dragged by four guards, they shove him up to the cell bars. From the looks of it, he's been here awhile; his face is half hidden by long hair, a scraggly beard and many new bruises. Evelyn looks at him, disgusted by his appearance.

"But he's just a filthy criminal?" Rose looks at Evelyn darkly.

Jonathan says while cringing, "Way to go, Evy."

O'Connell gives Evelyn the once over, then looks at Jonathan. His glance at Rose was short and fleeting. "So who's the broads?" He growls out.

"Broad?!" Evy angrily cries.

"She's one of my sisters, actually." Jonathan declares, peacefully.

"Yeah? Well,...I'm sure she's not a total loss." Evelyn is stunned and furious. Rose smirks at her sister.

The Warden heads out the door. "I'll be back in a moment."

"I tremble with anticipation." Rose giggles at his sarcastic response to the Warden. A Guard clubs O'Connell across the head, O'Connell's face bounces off the metal bars. He shows no pain, but just looks back and gives the Guard a nasty look.

Evelyn steps closer. "We uh,...found... your puzzle box, and we've come to ask you about it.

"No."

"No?" Evy questions.

"No...You came to ask me about Hamunaptra." Evelyn, Rose and Jonathan quickly look around, hoping the guards didn't hear him. They step closer.

Evelyn plays coy. "How do you know the box pertains to Hamunaptra?"

"Because that's where I found it. I was there." Evelyn is dumbstruck. But Jonathan and Rose looks suspicious.

"How do we know that's not a load of pig swallow?" O'Connell looks closer at Jonathan, a glint of recognition. "Hey,...don't I know you?"

"Um. a, well. you, you see..." Jonathan stutters out. O'Connell's fist comes flying through the bars, hits Jonathan square in the jaw, decks him. He hits the floor; out cold. A Guard clubs O'Connell and his head bounces off the bars again. He shows no pain, but gives the Guard another nasty look.

Evelyn and Rose look down at their brother, then back at O'Connell. "You were actually at Hamunaptra?"

"I just decked your brother."

"Yes, well," Evy shrugs; "I know my brother." O'Connell almost smiles. There's a bit of spark to this girl. Rose laughs because she knows that Jonathan deserved that knock out.

"Yeah, I was there."

"You swear?"

"Every damn day." Rose laughs again at his comment.

"No, I mean..."O'Connell cuts Evy off. "I know what you mean. I was there, alright. Seti's place. The City Of The Dead."

"What did you find? What did you see?"

"I found sand. I saw death." The warden enters. Evelyn quickly leans closer to O'Connell. Rose looks at her sister in mock surprise.

"Could you tell me how to get there? The exact location?"

"Want to know?" Evelyn leans in even closer trying to hear. "Yes."

"Really want to know?" She leans her face right up to the bars, nervous and excited. Rose just watches her older sister.

"Yes." O'Connell steps forward and kisses her full on the lips. Rose stares at the two of them while they kiss.

"Then get me the hell outta here." Evelyn is stunned. A Guard club him, his face bounces off the bars again, but before he can react the Guards grab him, yank him away from the bars and drag him out of the room.

"Where are they taking him?"

"To be hanged." Rose and Evelyn is shocked. The warden shows-off his crocked green teeth. "Apparently, he had a very good time."

Hundreds of filthy prisoners stare down onto the gallows as the hangman's noose is draped over O'Connell's head and cinched tight around his neck. Rose and Evelyn follow the warden onto a balcony above the gallows. The prisoners all go dead quiet at the sight of her; like jackals staring at fresh meat.

"No women allowed."

"We are English women." Evy states coolly. This seems to confuse the Warden, though he shrugs and sits down. O'Connell looks up as Evelyn plops down beside the Warden. Rose continues to stand a little behind her sisters chair.

"I will give you one hundred pounds to spare his life."

"I would pay one hundred pounds just to see him hang." The warden chortled.

"Two hundred pounds."

"Proceed!"

"Three hundred pounds!" O'Connell can hear every word, he looks hopeful. Other than Evelyn, you could hear a pin drop. The hangman turns to him. "Any last requests, pig?"

"Yeah, I'd like ya to let me go." The Hangman grabs the lever to the trapdoor.

"FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS!" The Warden sets his greasy, lecherous hand on Evelyn's leg. Rose retches behind her sister.

"And what else?" Evelyn is revolted, she quickly shoves his hand away. Insulted, the Warden angrily turns and gestures to the Hangman, who pulls the lever. The trapdoor drops away.

"NOOO!" Evelyn screams as O'Connell drops through the hole. The rope pays-out. Then jerks taught. O'Connell's body snaps at the end of the rope. But he's still alive, because... "His neck did not break! Good! Now we watch him strangle to death." The warden mocks.

The prisoners go crazy, screaming and shouting in anger. The guards look around, nervous. O'Connell struggles at the end of the rope, gagging. Evelyn and Rose are horrified, Evy quickly turns to the warden, leans forward and whispers in his ear. "He knows the location to Hamunaptra."

The warden spins around and faces her. "You lie."

"I would never!" At the end of the rope, O'Connell is choking and gagging and turning several shades of red. The Warden stares at Evelyn.

"Are you saying this filthy godless son of a pig knows where to find The City Of The Dead? Truly?"

"Yes and if you cut him down, we will give you ten percent." Evelyn starts to negotiate a price with the warden, while Rose watches her.

"Fifty percent."

"Twenty."

"Forty."

Evelyn hesitates, bites her lip. O'Connell's eyes bulge as he looks up at her, he can't believe this girl.

"Twenty-five percent, and not one single farthing more." The warden flashes a big green smile, then yells in Arabic. A scimitar slashes the air. The rope is cut. O'Connell crashes to the ground. Half dead. Rolls over. Gagging. All of the prisoners bursts into cheers. O'Connell looks up at Evelyn. She smiles broadly and waves down at him.


	3. Chapter 3

At the Giza river port, Evelyn and her siblings are standing and waiting for Mr. O'Connell.

"Do you really think he'll show up?" Evy questions Rose and Jonathan.

"Undoubtedly, I know the breed, he may be a cowboy, but his word is his word." He reassures his sisters.

"Personally, I think he's filthy, rude and a complete scoundrel. I don't like him one bit."

"Anyone I know?" They all turn. As Rick O'Connell walks up; shaved, showered, spit and polished, with a new haircut and clothes. He looks more dashing and handsome than ever. Evelyn is suitably impressed. Rose looks at her sister then O'Connell, wondering if Jonathan is willing to make a bet with her on how long it takes for them to get together.

"Oh... um,...hello." Evy shyly stutters out.

Jonathan grabs O'Connell's arm and shakes his hand. "Smashing day for the start of an adventure, eh, O'Connell?"

O'Connell quickly checks his pockets, "Yeah, sure, smashing." He finds his wallet and relaxes.

Rose leans over to Jonathan and whispers,"Wanna bet that they get together when this trip is over." Jonathan nods, "I say before the trip concludes." Rose gives him a smile as if to say your on, brother.

Evelyn, recovering, she clears her throat."Mister O'Connell, can you look me in the eye, and guarantee me this is not some sort of flimflam? Because if it is, I'm warning you..."

O'Connell steps up close to Evelyn, invading her space looks her straight in the eye. Evelyn doesn't back away."All I can tell you, miss, is that my Colonel found that map in an ancient fortress, and the whole damn garrison believed in it so much, that without orders, we marched halfway across Libya and into Egypt to find that city. Like I told ya, all I saw was sand. Everybody else was wiped-out by Tuareg warriors. I'll take your bags." Rose looks at him impressed.

O'Connell takes her bags and heads up the gangplank and onto barge. Evelyn's eyes follow him, a bit wistfully. Jonathan sees it. "Yes, yes, you're right, filthy, rude, a complete scoundrel, nothing to like there at all." Rose laughs at Jonathan's teasing.

Evelyn gives him a look. Jonathan just grins and that's when the warden suddenly brushes past, tipping his raggedy hat. "A bright good morning to all."

"What are you doing here?" Evelyn exasperatedly spat. "I have come to protect my investment, thank you very much." He plainly states. And up the plank he goes. Evelyn, Rose and Jonathan share a look as the barge pulls out and heads down the Nile.

Upon the River Nile at night, the moon, shining down on the desert. The three vicious Medjai quietly glide a narrow skiff out onto the river. The one with the hook sits in the middle of the skiff, the other two row, heading for the passenger barge coming their way. Jonathan and the three Americans are playing poker. O'Connell comes out a door, leading to the bar at the bow of the boat, carrying a gunny-sack.

"Sit down, O'Connell, sit down, we could use another good player." Jonathan states calling him over.

O'Connell responds, "I only gamble with my life, never my money."

"Never? What if I were to wager five hundred dollars says we get to Hamunaptra before you?" O'Connell returns Daniel's cocky look.

"Yer on." O'Connell accepts as Burns slips on his dirty bifocals. "What makes you so confident, sir?"

"What makes you?"

Henderson spits a wad of chew into a spittoon. "We got us a man who's actually been there." O'Connell's poker face drops, perplexed. Same with Jonathan.

"I say, what a coincidence, why..." Jonathan starts to exclaim. O'Connell 'accidentally' hits him in the ribs with the gunny-sack, shutting him up. Jonathan quickly covers.

"Whose deal is it? Is it my deal? I thought I just dealt?" Jonathan states trying to cover up.

Evelyn and Rose are siting at a table, staring out over the passing river. O'Connell drops his gunny-sack onto the table, startling Evelyn. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya." Rose's lips tilt upward at his comment.

"The only thing that scares me, Mister O'Connell, are your manners," Evy responds slyly.

"Still angry that I kissed ya, huh?"

"If you call that a kiss." Evy easily rebukes. Rose smiles at her sister, waiting for them to act on the tension they expel. O'Connell reaches into the gunny-sack and starts pulling out revolvers, pistols, hunting knives, a massive elephant gun, and a half dozen carefully wrapped sticks of dynamite.

"Did I miss something? Are we going into battle?" Evelyn questions, smiling.

"The last time I was at that place everybody I was with died." This takes the smile off Evelyn's face. O'Connell starts dismantling and cleaning the guns. Rose watches closely as he does so.

"There's something out there, you know, something under that sand."

"Yes, I'm hoping to find a certain artifact, a book, actually, my brother thinks there's treasure. Rose is here to 'keep us in line'. What do you think is out there?" O'Connell looks into Evelyn's eyes.

"Evil. The Tuaregs and the Bedouin believe that Hamunaptra is cursed, they call it, "the doorway to hell"

"Ahmar is Ossirion. "Passageway to the underworld", actually." Rose looks at her sister with a soft glint in her eye, as her sister gives him a know-it-all grin.

"I don't believe in fairy tales and hokum, Mister O'Connell, but I do believe that one of the most famous books in history is buried out there, The Book Of The Living. It's what first interested me in Egypt as a child. It's why I came here, sort of a life's pursuit."

"And the fact that they say it's made out of pure gold, makes no never-mind to you, right?"

Evelyn and Rose are surprised by his knowledge. "You know your history."

"I know my treasure." Evelyn gets up to go, then she hesitates, nervous, as she turns back to O'Connell, and as matter-of-fact as possible says:"By the way,...why did you kiss me?"

O'Connell, cleaning his guns, just shrugs his shoulders."I was about to be hanged, seemed like a good idea at the time." Evelyn's eyes widen, furious, she turns and storms off. O'Connell looks up, watching her leave, a bit perplexed. Rose looks at him menacingly.

"What?... What'd I say?"

"Think about it, O'Connell. Think real hard." Rose exclaims walking off after her sister.

Then he hears someone snickering under the table. He quickly reaches down, grabs that someone and lifts him up.

"My very good friend! What a surprise."

"Why if it ain't my little buddy, Beni. I outta kill you." O'Connell sticks a knife under Beni's throat. Beni swallows hard, then tries to weasel his way out with a big grin.

"You never were any good with the ladies, O'Connell."

O'Connell ignores him, "So you're the one leading the Americans, I shoulda figured. So what's the scam? You get 'em out in the middle of the desert then leave 'em to rot?"

"Unfortunately no, these Americans are smart, they pay me only half now, half when I get them back to Cairo, so I must go all the way." O'Connell pulls the knife away. Beni relaxes, rubs his neck. "You never believed in Hamunaptra, O'Connell. Why are you going back? The devil himself lives out there."

They look as they hear Evelyn yelp. A single camel in the horse paddock takes another bite at her. She yelp again and backs away. Rose is laughing at her, quietly. O'Connell grins as Evelyn flees down the deck, Rose following close behind.

"The girl saved my life, figured it was the least I could do, keep her out of trouble."

"You always did have more balls than brains." O'Connell's eyes narrow at the insult, he looks back at Beni. "Let's make us even, shall we?

"Even?" Beni mutters. O'Connell grabs him and chucks him over the side of the barge. Beni splashes into the river. O'Connell takes his gunny-sack and starts walking off down the deck.

"O'Connell! I am going to kill you for this!" Beni yells from the Nile.

"Sounds familiar." That's when he spots three sets of wet footprints, coming up over the railing from the river and heading down the deck. O'Connell quickly looks around, immediately on the alert.

Rose is sleeping upon the bed in her pale blue nightgown. Evelyn, wearing a white nightgown, stands in front of a mirror. She is in the room that she is sharing with Rose. She gives her head a good shake, letting her hair fall loose over her bare shoulders. Then she turns around, right there is one of the hideous Medjai! He slams his hand over her mouth and lifts up his hook, ready to strike.

"Where is the map?" He hisses darkly. Evelyn's terrified eyes glance down. Hook looks over, sees the map lying next to a flickering candle on a nearby table.

"And the key? Where is the key?" Evelyn's eyes look confused. She shakes her head. As Hook grins,"Then I'll find it myself."

He cocks his hook, about to kill her. And that's when the door is kicked open. Rose wakes with a start as O'Connell bursts in, a gun in each hand. Hook spins Evelyn around and holds her out in front of him. Rose and O'Connell looks at her.

"Friend of yours?" Rose glares at O'Connell, thinking that now is so not the time. Evelyn's eyes widen. And that's when the candle on the table flickers. Everything happens at once, as O'Connell spins around just as a window bursts open. A Medjai leans in and fires a gun. Wood chips blast off the wall next to O'Connell's head. He returns fire, killing the Medjai. The Medjai falls back and a lantern in the room is blasted. Kerosene splashes across the wall. bursts into flames. Evelyn grabs the candle on the table and jams it back over her shoulder, right into Hook's eye. He screeches in pain and lets her go. O'Connell grabs her and yanks her out of the flaming room. Rose rolling off the bed and running right behind them. O'Connell pulls Evelyn down the hall, she tries to jerk free.

"The map! We need the map!" Rose looks at her sister as though she is insane, wanting to go back to a room full of death and fire.

He shoves her up against a wall. "Relax! I'm the map!," He taps his forehead."It's all up here."

"Oh that's comforting." O'Connell gives her a look, then pulls her forward.

"Really Evelyn? Sarcasm. What has become of my proper prudish big sister?" Evelyn glares are O'Connell states,"C'mon, there's still one more of those guys around here somewhere."

As hot melted wax covers Hook's face, while he holds his sore eye and struggles to the door. Then he notices the box on the floor. He bends over to pick it up and that's when the door is kicked open again, it hits him in the ass and knocks him into the fire. Jonathan leans in and seeing nothing but flames, screams,"EVY! ROSE!"

Then he sees the box on the floor and picks it up, as a hand suddenly snatches the box away from him. "Hey that's mine." It's was Hook. His backside is now on fire and as he lifts his pistol, Jonathan quickly backpedals out the door as Hook opens fire.

O'Connell, Evelyn and Rose race out onto the deck near the horse paddock. People are screaming and shouting, they are surrounded by lots of panic. **BLAM**! A chunk of the wall is blown off next to Evelyn's head. O'Connell pivots and fires back. It's the last Medjai, on the other side of the paddock. He and O'Connell exchange gunfire. Another lantern bursts into flames. O'Connell shoots off the paddock lock. The horses go nuts. O'Connell fires over their heads. They charge foreword and crash through the door. The Medjai scream as the horses stampede over him. flames sweep up the walls and race across the roof. Half the barge is now on fire. O'Connell throws the gunny-sack over his shoulder.

"Can you swim?" He asks both woman, loudly yelling over the chaos that is happening on the barge.

"Well of course I can swim, if the occasion calls for it." Rose looks at O'Connell realizing what he means and jumps over the side of the barge into the River Nile.

"Trust me," He picks her up and throws her over the side,"The occasion calls for it." Evelyn splashes into the water. As O'Connell dives in after her.

As Jonathan runs out onto the bow, he sees the three Americans, with guns in every hand, fanning their pistols, shooting everything in sight. Jonathan just shakes his head. "Americans."

Hook suddenly stumbles up behind him, now a flaming torch. As Jonathan turns around, Hook grabs him by the throat with his flaming arm and pins him to the cabin wall. Jonathan's eyes widen as he sees a hook rising up inside the flames about to strike him. One of the Americans pivot and opens fire, blowing Hook over the railing.

Jonathan turns to the Americans and smiles."I say! Good show!" Then he points his thumb at himself,"And did I panic?" He lifts up his other hand, he has the box back."I think not." And that's when the horses stampede onto the bow. Jonathan dives over one side, the three Americans dive over the other.

O'Connell, Evelyn, Jonathan, Rose and the Warden wade out of the water. Rose's and Evelyn's nightgowns cling tightly to their body as they wring them out. Evelyn looks good and O'Connell notices. Everybody else, including the horses, is getting out on the far shore where O'Connell spots Beni running up to the Americans.

"Hey O'Connell! Looks to me like I got all the horses!"

"Hey Beni! Looks to me like your on the wrong side of the river!" Beni looks up at the stars, then angrily kicks the sand cursing. Rose laughs at his temper tantrum. The flaming barge drifts off, slowly sinking...

O'Connell barters in Arabic with a camel trader at a trading post. As Jonathan forks over some cash. The Trader hands them the reins of five ugly old camels.

"I can't believe the price of these fleabags." Jonathan mutters coarsely.

"We coulda had 'em for free, all we had to do was give 'em your sisters."

"Yes, awfully tempting, wasn't it?" He answers when he sees O'Connell's face knowing that he saw what Evy was wearing."Awfully." Evelyn is changed into a gorgeous, tightly fitted, black Bedouin dress. Rose wore an identical one in dark grey. "Then again..."

O'Connell, Rose, Evelyn, Jonathan and the warden are on camels in the middle of the frying pan; the endless, sun baked Sahara."Never did like camels. Filthy buggers. They smell, they bite, they spit. Disgusting." Jonathan utters loudly.

The warden savagely attacks a chicken wing with his vile green teeth. Flies buzz around his head. He sucks at his gums, then spits out some gristle. O'Connell watches him. "Yeah, disgusting." Rose agrees with O'Connell while trying to keep far away from the warden as possible.

Evelyn is having the time of her life on top of her camel."Well I think they're cute." Showing the majesty of the desert, and getting deeper and deeper into it.

The moon shines down on five lone camel rider's trekking across the vast wasteland. Jonathan is sound asleep, his head bobbing comically to the rhythm of his camel. On the camel next to him, the Warden snores loudly. Up in front of them, Evelyn slowly starts to slide off her saddle. Rose watches her sister as O'Connell reaches over and stops her, then gently pushes her back up onto her saddle, never waking her. For a long moment, his eyes watch Evelyn, and then he looks up at a distant ridge...where Ardeth Bay and a group of Medjai rider are pacing them.

The dawning sun hasn't yet crested the distant horizon as Jonathan and the Warden ride alongside a giant sand dune, arguing.

"And you snore!"

"I do not snore!"

"All night you snored!"

"I have never snored!"

Up in front of them, O'Connell looks at Evelyn. "We're almost there."

"Are you sure?" O'Connell looks down at the ground.

"Pretty sure." The others look down and see dozens of skeletons sticking out of the ground. Bleached and eaten away. Some of the skeletons look like they're trying to crawl up out of the desert floor. Rose shutters.

"What in bloody hell is this?"The Warden shivers in fear at Jonathans question.

"Other seekers of Hamunaptra." Responds the frightened warden.

The American Expedition rides out from behind the far end of the dune. The Americans are accompanied by two dozen native diggers and an Arab Egyptologist. Beni rides lead on a camel, the rest ride horses.

"Good morning, my friend!" O'Connell just nods to him. The two parties come to a stop a hundred feet apart. O'Connell turns and stares out across the endless horizon. Beni does likewise. The Americans look puzzled.

"Well, what the hell we doin'?" Daniel's barks out. "Patience, my good sahib, patience." Beni replies

Henderson looks over at O'Connell."First one to the city, O'Connell! Five hundred! Cash bucks!"

O'Connell and Beni just stare out at the flat nothingness. Evelyn, Rose and Jonathan share a look. And then, the sun starts to rise in the distance, breaking the flat horizon."Get ready."

Evelyn can feel the suspense and the majesty of the moment."For what?"

"We're about to be shown the way." Far off to the right, a HUGE SHAPE begins to rise with the sun. A volcano. O'Connell and Beni watch it, expressionless. Daniels, Henderson and Burns share a look, and then,"HEYA!"

The Americans take off. Racing towards the rising volcano."SEE YA THERE, O'CONNELL!"

Evelyn, Jonathan and Rose give O'Connell anxious, sarcastic looks."Ah, begging your pardon, but shouldn't we be going?"

"After all, you rode us night and day to win that bet." O'Connell doesn't say a word, staring hard.

Beni watches the Americans and spits into the sand."Fools"

And then suddenly, the volcano shifts across the horizon. Passing across the sun as it goes. It's a mirage. The Americans crash their horses to a stop and race the other way, after the volcano. Evelyn and Jonathan smile, amazed. The volcano shifts again, floating across the watery horizon. The Americans crash to a stop again and chase after the volcano. All three of them confused and cursing. O'Connell and Beni just stare, waiting. The volcano shifts again. And the Americans crash to a stop again. Burns is thrown from his horse. Henderson angrily rips his hat off and chucks it to the ground. Daniels just curses as they give up the chase. The volcano comes to a stop on the far left of the horizon. The Americans are on the far right. Nothing moves. And then O'Connell grins and so does Beni. They share a look. And then swat their camels and race away. Everybody else hauls-ass after them. O'Connell and Beni are neck-and-neck. And then Evelyn comes galloping up, hair flying in the wind. Beni takes out his camel whip and starts whipping O'Connell. Trying to knock him off his camel. Once. Crack! Twice. Crack! But on the third try O'Connell grabs the whip and jerks Beni off his camel. Beni slams to the ground and tumbles. Evelyn and O'Connell race across the desert. Evelyn has never felt so alive. She laughs. O'Connell grins; he likes this girl. Beni stumbles to his feet, then quickly dances out of the way as Jonathan, Rose and all the other riders stampede past him. Evelyn beats O'Connell to the stone ramp, racing hard.

"Evelyn! Slow down!" Evelyn ignores him as she races up the ramp towards the gate.

"SLOW DOWN, EVELYN! SLOW DOWN! THERE'S A REALLY BIG..."

Evelyn goes ass-over-teacups through the air and crash lands in a sand dune. She sits up, stunned, sandy hair in her eyes. O'Connell stops at the edge of the ramp next to her camel.

"Never mind."

The Americans ride up and look in wonder at the ruins inside the volcano. O'Connell gives them a big, shit-eating grin."You boys owe me five hundred dollars."

Under the guidance of the Egyptologist, the Diggers are busy hauling rock and dirt out of the Temple doorway. The three Americans are playing poker. Beni smokes a hookah and swats

flies. Dozens of stray camels roam the decrepit city; dusty backpacks and old saddlebags still slung over their humps.

"Where'd all these camels come from?" Daniel's asks Beni. "They belong to the dead. They will wait years for their masters to return before leaving."


	4. Chapter 4

O'Connell, Evelyn, Rose, Jonathan and the Warden are working next to a narrow crevice, which weaves it's way through the ruins. O'Connell ties a rope around a pillar and throws the rest of the coils into the crevice, about to rappel down. Jonathan bends over to have a look, his ass hits something, he yelps and backs away. It's the decrepit face of Anubis.

"That thing gives me the creeps." Jonathan blurted out. "Be nice. That thing saved my life." O'Connell exclaims. Evelyn and Rose are positioning ancient mirrors along the crevice.

"That "thing" gets me excited."

O'Connell statistically mutter, "The things that get you excited." Rose chokes on her saliva because of laughing to hard at O'Connells comment.

"According to Bembridge Scholars, inside the statue of Anubis was a secret compartment, perhaps containing The Book Of The Living."

"What are those mirrors for?"

"Ancient Egyptian trick. You'll see." O'Connell shrugs, then rappels down into the crevice.

O'Connell waves a torch as Rose, Jonathan, Evelyn and the warden drop down next to him. Evelyn peers into the spooky darkness. "Do you realize, we are standing inside a room that no one has entered in over four thousand years."

"Who cares? I don't see no treasure." The warden whines.

"You're welcome to my share of the spider webs." O'Connell teases. "And it stinks to high heaven in here." Jonathan exclaimed. Evelyn and Rose just rolls their eyes and mutter, "Cretins."

Jonathan sniffs the foul air, then he looks at the warden and realizes where the smell is coming from. He stops sniffing. Evelyn brushes cobwebs away from a metal disk on the wall, then repositions it on it's pedestal, aiming it at a ray of light shining in from the outer mirrors. The ray of light hits the disk and quickly shoots around the room from one disk to another until the whole chamber is lit up. Light rays shoot off down the passageways. It's an embalmer's chamber.

"That is a neat trick." O'Connell states impressed.

"Oh my god, It's a preparation room." Evy exclaims with joy.

"Preparation for what?"

Rose answers,"For entering the afterlife" O'Connell quickly draws his gun. Jonathan gently nudges him, "Mummies, my good son, this is where they made the mummies." Evelyn heads down a narrow passageway. The others follow.

O'Connell, Evelyn and Jonathan crouch as they make their way through a narrow, cobweb infested labyrinth. Rose and the short, squat warden could stand straight up. Then they hear something and freeze. It sounds like somebody is clawing inside the walls. They share looks. Then slowly move forward. Getting darker and darker as they go. The strange sound getting louder and louder. And then it stops. Rose and Evelyn holds their breath. Jonathan licks his lips. O'Connell cocks his pistol. The warden farts. O'Connell, Jonathan, Rose and Evelyn glare at him.

They slowly creep out of the labyrinth and up to the foot of an enormous half-buried statue. The lower half of Anubis. Then they hear the sound again, coming closer now, from the other side of the statue. And closer. O'Connell pulls Evelyn behind him. While Jonathan does the same to Rose. And closer. O'Connell raises his gun. And closer! O'Connell leaps out. Three horrible sweaty faces lunge at him. O'Connell reacts. But doesn't pull the trigger because it's just the Americans, their guns are up, cocked and aimed.

Henderson mutters, "Ya scared the bejeezus out of us, O'Connell."

"Likewise." But nobody lowers their guns. Daniels grins, the tough one. "This here is our statue,...friend."

"Don't see your name on it,...pal." And that's when Beni, five Diggers and the Egyptologist step out of the shadows, all holding guns aimed at O'Connell.

"Ten to one, O'Connell, your odds are no-so-good."

"I've had worse." Jonathan clenches a tiny derringer."Yes, me to." O'Connell gives him a sideways glance. Beni cocks his gun, grinning, he wants it to happen. The tension thickens. Then Evelyn gently takes O'Connell's gun hand and pulls it down.

"Let's be nice, children, if we're going to play together, we must learn to share." Rose snickers as Evelyn pulls O'Connell away. Jonathan and the Warden follow. Beni and the Americans slowly lower their guns, laughing. The Egyptologist excitedly begins translating the hieroglyphs.

O'Connell and Jonathan are using sledge-hammers against the ceiling. Rose is watching everyone work, the reason she isn't helping is because they didn't have enough tools for everyone. Evelyn is gently chipping away with a tiny chisel.

"According to my calculations, we should be right under the statue. We'll come up right between his legs." She blushes and laughs,'Oh my." Rose chuckles lightly to herself at Evy's comment.

"And when those dirty Yanks go to sleep..." He turns to O'Connell,"No offense."

"None taken."

"...We'll sneak up and steal that book right out from under them." Jonathan continues.

"And you're sure you can find the secret compartment?"

"Yes, if their Egyptologist hasn't already found it."

Jonathan looks around."I say, what's our smelly little friend got himself up to?"

"Maybe he found a cute mummy girlfriend." Rose teases.

The Warden crawls into a dark chamber and lights a torch. A mural wall comes alive. Embedded into it are dozens of black amethyst scarabs; glittering images of the sacred beetles. Awestruck, the Warden pulls out a pocket knife and starts prying away at one of the precious bugs.

Beni and the Americans hover around the Egyptologist, who's found the secret compartment inside Anubis. The Egyptologist brushes sand away from the seam. Henderson steps forward and grabs the seam, the Egyptologist quickly stops him."Seti was no fool."

Henderson sees the intense look in the Egyptologist's eyes."Yeah, sure..."

He looks back at the native Diggers."We'll let them open it."

The Egyptologist nods, then yells in Egyptian at the Diggers. The Diggers hesitate, filled with fear. Daniels pulls out his gun, aims it at three of the Diggers. The three Diggers hesitantly step forward with crowbars and stick them into the seams. The other Diggers back away, scared shitless. Beni and the Americans exchange looks, and then they back away as well.

O'Connell, Evy and Jonathan are still digging into the ceiling, while Rose looks at them disturbed by their conversation. "Lemme get this straight, they stuck a sharp, red hot poker up your nose, cut your brain into small pieces, then ripped it all out through your nostrils?"

"OWCH!" Jonathan gasped."That's really got to hurt."

"It's called mummification. You're dead when they do this."

"Still..." Jonathan starts.

"I agree with ol' Johnny boy. That doesn't sound pleasant dead or alive." Rose told Evy honestly. "Yeah, that'd bring you back to life."

"You three are worse than a couple of schoolkids." And that's when a huge chunk of the roof suddenly givens out. O'Connell grabs Evelyn and jerks her clear. Jonathan dives for the far wall. Rose covers her head even though she was lucky because she was sitting off from were it fell. A massive stone casement drops out of the ceiling and crashes to the floor. Dust flies and fills the room.

Having heard the crash, Beni and the Americans have their guns pointed at the floor. The Egyptologist could care less, he looks at the Diggers, gripping their crowbars, and yells "FENI!"

The three Diggers pull hard. The ancient seams start to give, The Egyptologist yells again. The Diggers pull harder. The compartment starts to loosen. Again he yells. The Diggers give one final pull and an intense burst of liquid sprays out of the seam and hits the three diggers. Melting their skin clean off. They scream. Dying horribly. Half skeletal by the time they hit the ground...

The dust is starting to clear. Rose, O'Connell, Evelyn and Jonathan slowly get up and step over to the massive stone casement. "Oh my god,...it looks like, it looks like a sarcophagus."

"Why would they bury somebody in the ceiling?" Rose looks at O'Connell unimpressed.

"They didn't, they buried him at the foot of Anubis. He was either someone of great importance. or he did something very naughty."

Rose smiles while uttering loudly."My vote is the naughty."

The warden drops an amethyst-scarab into his pouch, then greedily-starts prying away at another. It rips off, he drops it into his pouch, only he misses, and this scarab quietly falls to the sandy floor without the Warden noticing. The scarab on the floor begins to transform. The amethyst starts to glow. Something inside starts to wiggle; as if the amethyst were some sort of strange cocoon. Then it splits open and a real live hideous scarab beetle scurries out. It races over to the warden's shoe, quickly burrows into the leather and vanishes inside. The Warden's eyes fly open. He starts to scream, drops his knife and frantically starts clawing away at his pant leg, higher and higher until he rips open his shirt revealing a large, hideous lump, burrowing under his skin. It burrows its way up his fat belly and across his hairy chest. The Warden claws and scratches at it, trying to stop it. The lump burrows up his neck. The Warden starts gagging and coughing. And then the scarab-lump vanishes into his head.

As everyone clears the dirt off the top of the sarcophagus, revealing a single, ominous hieroglyph. Evelyn stares at it Jonathan impatiently strums his fingers across the lid."Well?... Who is it?"

Evelyn stares at the hieroglyph, confused and concerned. "He that shall not be named."

O'Connell dusts off the huge lock,"There's some sort of lock here. You say these thing's are made of granite with a steel interior?"

"Quarried granite with a cobalt lining."

"Whoever's in here, sure wasn't getting out." Rose nods to Jonathans statement, then stops hoping that makes her ever growing headache lessen.

"No kiddin', without a key, it'll take us a month to crack this thing."

"A key! That's it! That's what he was talking about."

"Who was talking about what?" Rose agrees with O'Connell, that's a good question.

Evelyn starts rummaging through the pack on Jonathan's back.

"The man on the barge. The one with the hook, he was looking for a key." Rose peers at her sister, than closes her eyes hoping that will help make the golden hue that is invading the edges of her vision fade.

Evelyn pulls out the box. Jonathan tries to take it back,"Hey that's mine!"

Evelyn slaps his hand and quickly unfolds the box, it's now shaped exactly like the lock's keyhole. Evelyn smiles. And that's when they hear the Warden's screams echoing through the labyrinth. All four of them turn and take-off running.

The Warden is screaming and dancing insanely around the labyrinth, totally freaked from the extreme pain in his head. O'Connell, Evelyn, Rose and Jonathan run up just as the Warden starts ripping his own hair out of his head. O'Connell and Jonathan grab at the Warden's hands, but he's far too crazed, he shoves them aside, runs full bore down the length of the labyrinth and slams his head straight into a rock wall. The Warden drops to the ground. Dead as lead. Eyes wide open. O'Connell, Rose, Evelyn and Jonathan just stand there staring, breathing hard, wide-eyed themselves...


	5. Chapter 5

At the camp later that evening, Evelyn, and Jonathan are nuzzled up to a campfire.

"What do you suppose killed him?" Evy quietly asks.

"Did you ever see him eat?"

O'Connell comes up over some rocks."Seems the Americans had a little misadventure of their own today, three of their diggers were killed."

"How?" Evelyn breathlessly whispers.

"Salt acid. Pressurized salt acid. Some sort of ancient booby-trap."

"Maybe this place really is cursed." A gust of wind blows through the camp. The campfire flickers O'Connell and Jonathan share a nervous look. Evelyn laughs.

"Don't believe in curses, huh?"

"No. I believe if I can see it and I can touch it, then it's real. That's what I believe." O'Connell cocks his rifle, **KA** - **CHANK**! Gives her a big grin. "I believe in being prepared."

Jonathan opens the Warden's pouch, the one that held the scarabs. He reaches in, starts scrounging around. And then, Jonathan screams in pain and rips his hand back out of the pouch. O'Connell and Evelyn both jump."WHAT?! WHAT IS IT?!"

Jonathan sucks his finger, then reaches back into the pouch and pulls out a liquor bottle, the top has been chipped off."Seagrams!"

Jonathan smiles at the bottle, then turns the pouch inside out and shakes it, nothing but sand is inside it."Well, he may have been a stinky fellow,...but he had good taste."

Jonathan takes a swig. O'Connell and Evelyn laugh, guiltily. And then O'Connell suddenly kneels down and sticks his ear to the sand. Evelyn and Jonathan watch him. And then a barrage of gunfire is heard coming from the American camp. O'Connell jumps up and throws the elephant gun to Evelyn."Stay here!"

He takes off running through the ruins. Evelyn immediately gets up and runs after him. Jonathan grabs a gun, holds the bottle of Seagrams; tight and dashes after her. "Evy! Excuse me! But didn't the man just say!"

The American camp is under siege. Two dozen Medjai riders gallop through firing rifles. Several Diggers are killed as they run. The Americans leap out of their tents firing. Kill multiple Riders. Daniels is shot, spins and falls, keeps shooting. Henderson and Burns run to his aid, blasting away. O'Connell races through the ruins and slams right into Beni, who is obviously trying to high-tail-it out of there."Goin' somewhere?"

"Just looking for you, O'Connell! I wanted to be with my friend!" O'Connell drags him back towards the American camp.

"C'mon, friend."

While Beni is struggling he asks O'Connell, "Why do you like to fight so much?"

"'Cause I look good doin', it."

Ardeth Bay gallops through the camp, cutting Diggers down with his scimitar. O'Connell runs up on top of some rocks, leaps out and tackles him off his horse. The two men slam to

the ground. O'Connell spins up onto one knee and fires, point blank and blows the scimitar out of Ardeth Bay's hand. O'Connell is about to shoot again when a horse rides up between them. A scimitar swoops down, almost takes O'Connell's head off, misses him by an inch. O'Connell leaps up and blows the Rider off his mount. The horse bolts. But Ardeth Bay is gone.

Evelyn hides behind some rocks, watching the scene, suddenly, she hears something coming up behind her and spins around. A vicious tattooed Medjai Rider races at her. Evelyn quickly

backpedals over the rocks, terrified. The Medjai Rider raises his scimitar, about to strike. Evelyn screams, trips over a rock and fires the elephant gun, **BLAM**! And blows the Rider off his mount and catapults him twenty feet back into some ruins.

At the same time, the kick blows Evelyn off her feet and over a ridge. She flails through the air and lands in a sand dune. Jonathan and some Diggers are holding their own near the

temple door. Four Riders come charging right at them. Jonathan takes a swig off the Seagrams.

"Let 'em have it, boys!" Jonathan and the Diggers open fire. When the smoke clears, the Riders are either dead or gone. Jonathan grins."I say, bloody good show."

And then several more Medjai leap off the temple and land behind them. Jonathan and the remaining Diggers spin around and suddenly find themselves in hand-to-hand combat.

O'Connell is quickly loading his pistol. He hears something thundering up behind him. He spins around just as Ardeth Bay on a horse swings his scimitar. O'Connell instinctively raises his hands to protect his face, the scimitar strikes! And hits his gun, **CHING**! O'Connell's gun flips away. Disarmed, O'Connell dives and rolls and suddenly comes up with a stick of dynamite in his hand. He shoves the fuse into a fire. It ignites. He faces Ardeth Bay, towering above him. The two men lock eyes. The fuse continues to burn down. Ardeth Bay points his scimitar at O'Connell's head. "LEAVE THIS PLACE! ...LEAVE THIS PLACE OR DIE!"

Ardeth Bay gallops off. The remaining Medjai Riders race after him, vanishing into the night. O'Connell watches them leave, then turns to the burning fuse,...and blows it out. Evelyn staggers up, looking very shaken. O'Connell gently takes her and holds her close."You alright?"

Evelyn looks up into his strong eyes. It's the first time he's shown genuine concern for her. And she likes it. He's also holding her a little too close. And she likes that too."Yes, ...fine, ...thank you." She stutters out

Beni crawls out from under some pillars as Henderson and Burns help Daniels to his feet."See! That proves it! Old Seti's fortune's gotta be under this sand!"

"For them to protect it like this, you just know there's got to be treasure down there."

O'Connell looks up into the surrounding ridges, unsatisfied."These men are a desert people they value water, not gold." Evelyn looks at O'Connell, suddenly very worried.

Meanwhile with Rose inside the tunnels under Hamunaptra. Rose decided she wanted to see more than just that one room at the base of Anubis. Continuing her journey, she wandered into a room that caused her to fall to her knees. Her head pounding, aching, as images flash past her. Images of a handsome, muscular man with intense, gentle eyes. _"_ _ **My love,**_ _" He whispers to her while his hand crest her bulging lower abdomen. Eyes alight with adoration. "_ _ **Thank you, Nefertari. For giving me a family.**_ _" Warm, soft lips gently press against her own. A smile graces her face as she looks at her husband."_ _ **I will love you for eternity and ever after.**_ _" She whimpers against his lips._ Rose opens her eyes slowly, not realizing that she had closed them. She thinks back to that vision, the feeling of love, the soft kisses make her touch her own lips as they tingle. Standing up she looks around the room and sees two beautiful golden sarcophagus, inlaid with rubies, emeralds and sapphires; one only big enough to hold small a child in. Tears build in her eyes and cress her cheeks, an image of a little boy laughing flashes past her eyes. Wiping the tears away she realizes that she is in a treasure room, although it looks to be more homely treasure than anything else. Rose rushes out of the room, no longer able to handle the feelings crashing through her.

Rose rejoins her camp as Jonathan falls and hits the ground. Eyes wide open and mouth agape. And then his eyes close and his mouth widens into a goofy smile, he is shit-faced drunk. O'Connell and Evelyn laugh, both half-in-the-bag themselves, the bottle of Seagrams is almost gone. Rose sits a bit away from them and watches as O'Connell offers the bottle to Evelyn, she waves it away, slurring badly."Unlike my brother, sir, I know when to say no."

O'Connell polishes off the bottle and chucks it away."Unlike your brother, Miss, you I don't get. You're a whole new brew."

"I know, you're wondering, what's a place like me doing in a girl like this?" Rose looks at Evy, before smiling knowing that her sister is going finally get the guy. She is happy, even though she has most likely lost the bet she had with Jonathan.

"Something like that."

"Egypt is in my blood. My father was a famous explorer, he loved Egypt so much that he married an Egyptian my mother! Who was quite an adventurer herself."

"Okay, I get your father, I get your mother and I get your brother, even your sister, but what are you doing here?"

Evelyn is insulted, she staggers to her feet."I may not be an explorer, or an adventurer, or a treasure hunter, or a gunfighter! mister O'Connell But I'm proud of what I am." Rose shakes her head, quietly laughing at her sister."

"And what is that?"

Evelyn plops back down beside him, really drunk, she grins and proudly lifts her head high."I... am a librarian!" She leans in, very close to his face, looks him in the eyes."I'm going to kiss you, mister O'Connell." Rose looks at her big sister proudly, glad that shes happy.

"No you're not." Rose looks at O'Connell confused.

"I'm not?"

"Not unless you call me Rick" Damn Rose thought that he wasn't going let her kiss him.

"Why would I do that?" Rose Aw's at her sister. Drunk Evy is so cute.

"Because that's my name." She gives him a goofy smile. He leans forward and kisses her. Evelyn's eyes slowly close. And then she passes out, slumping into his arms. O'Connell looks down at her, and just smiles. Rose smiles and gets up to got to bed.

Evelyn's hand slips the key into the sarcophagus, lock and turns it. A series of strange mechanical-lick sounds are heard, and then the sarcophagus unlocks with a giant hiss. O'Connell, Evelyn and Jonathan all look very, very hungover. While Rose is clear eyed and focused. They start to slide the heavy lid off the sarcophagus. Pushing, shoving and groaning, the lid budging, inch by inch.

"I can't believe I allowed the three of you to get me drunk."

"Actually, Evy its just those two. I wasn't there when you guys started drinking."

"Don't blame me, I don't even remember being there. And where were you Rosie Poise?"

"Well neither do I, thank you. And good question, where were you?"

"I was looking around." Rose looks at Evy, then Rick saddens.

O'Connell gives her a hurt look."You don't?"

Evelyn gives O'Connell a nervous look."No . ... Why? ... Should I?" Rose looks at Rick questioningly.

"Gee, yeah, you told me it was the best time you ever had." O'Connell gives her a big cheesy smile. Evelyn's face drops, appalled and embarrassed. And that's when the lid falls off and loudly crashes to the ground. All three of them instantly grab their sore heads and moan. Rose laughs at them.

-LINE BREAK-

Several fear-filled, sweaty-faced Diggers reach into the secret compartment. Henderson and Burns hold guns on them. Daniels has his arm in a sling. The Diggers slowly pull out the ornate chest. They set the chest down on the sandy floor. Beni watches as the Egyptologist translates the hieratics."There is a curse upon this chest."

"Curse my ass." Daniel's exclaims.

"Yeah, who cares." Henderson echos.

The Egyptologist gives them the evil-eye."In these hallowed grounds, that which was set forth in ancient times, is as strong today, as it was then."

"Yeah, yeah, okay, what's it." Henderson utters.

The Egyptologist slowly and carefully reads the inscription:"Death will come on swift wings to whomever opens this chest"."

A gust of wind blows through the chamber. torches flicker All-the Diggers suddenly turn tail and run off screaming. The Americans look at each other, suddenly very nervous."It says, there is one, the undead, who if brought back to life, is bound by sacred law to consummate this curse."

"Yeah, well, let's just make sure we don't bring anybody back from the dead then, huh?" The three Americans laugh.

"He will kill all who open this chest,...and assimilate their organs and fluids."

"Assimilate their organs and fluids? Ya mean eat 'em?" Daniel's hissed.

The Egyptologist continues reading, "And in so doing he will regenerate. And no longer be the undead, but a plague upon this earth. The wind whistles and the torches flicker. Very spooky. Beni and the Egyptologist share a fear-filled look. Henderson just shrugs."Ah hell, let's open it anyways."

 **WHAM**! Imhotep's wooden coffin is dropped to the ground next to his stone sarcophagus. Evelyn is very excited. Too excited in Rose's opinion.

"Oh my god, love dreamed about this ever since I was a little girl." Rose nods because, yeah, Evy dreams of dead people.

"You dream about dead guys?" Evelyn just gives him a look, then starts brushing dirt and cobwebs off the top of the coffin. Then she freezes. "Look, all the sacred spells have been chiseled off. The hieratics and hieroglyphs that protect the deceased on his journey into the afterlife, they've been removed. This man was cursed,...doomed."

O'Connell and Jonathan are too excited to care. Rose looks concerned at what Evy says.

"Tough break."

"Yes, I'm all tears, now let's see who's inside, shall we?" Rose rolls her eyes at the two man-children. Evelyn can't believe these guys. Jonathan inserts the key into the coffin's lock, turns it, the lid cracks open with a hiss. They all react to the foul stench. Then O'Connell grabs the lid. It's stuck. He pulls with all his might, Jonathan helps him. It starts to give way. Slowly. Slowly. Slowly. And then it suddenly pops open and the most hideous, maggot- infested, rotten corpse imaginable jumps up!

"AHHHHH!"They all jump back. Scared to death. The years have not been kind; he slumps back into his coffin. Rose grabs her head as a migraine hammers away at her head.

Henderson and Daniels start to pry at the lid of the wooden chest. Beni and the Egyptologist watch. In the background, Beni starts backing away, filled with fear, sweating buckets."The curse,...beware the curse!" He turns and bolts from the chamber.

Daniels spits."Stupid superstitious bastard." And that's when the seal breaks, A black vapor blasts out of the chest. Everybody vanishes into the strange cloud.

O'Connell, Evelyn, Jonathan and Rose slowly creep forward and carefully look back inside Imhotep's coffin, creeped-out." Is he supposed to look like that?" Rick questions Evy.

"No. I've never seen a mummy look like this. He's, he's still..."

"Juicy?" Jonathan and Rose supply.

"Yes. He's more than four thousand years old and still decomposing."

"I guess he looks good for a guy four thousand years plus." Jonathan gives Rose a look.

"And look at this." O'Connell points at the inside of the coffin lid, where there are fingernail scratches and dried blood all over the inside.

"Oh my god, he was buried alive," This sends a chill through everyone. Evelyn leans in closer, "And he left a message." A grouping of hieratics written in blood."It says: 'Death is only the beginning*"Jonathan shivers.

Rose goes and sits down on some of the rubble because her head is pounding. As she closes her eyes to black out the light, she is assaulted with more images of the handsome, muscular man with gentle eyes. _The man is holding Nefertari closely in his arms, while she lays on a large bed. Simply holding her, as though letting her go would end his life. "_ _ **I thought I had lost you, my love. When the midwives said that you might not make it, I feared for your life and the life of our son. Our Husani.**_ _" The man says with sorrow filled eyes."_ _ **I am sorry for worrying you, My Heart. My dear Imhotep.**_ _" A whine breaks though their sweet moment, Imhotep stands up and walks to a small crib, picking up his new born infant son. He brings him over to Nefertari, how is holding her arms open. Gently he gives her their baby."_ _ **He is so small, My Heart. Our little handsome boy.**_ _"_ The imagesfade away once again and as Rose is brought back to her family. A warm, loving feeling enraptures her as a smile makes it way onto her face.

O'Connell looks around. "Where's my gun?"

"What are you going to do?" Jonathan teases. "Shoot him?"

"If he decides to wakes up, hell yes!" Rose shakes her head laughing.

As the vapor is settling the Americans have their guns aimed at the chest. The Egyptologist slowly steps up, reaches inside, and lifts out a heavy burlap bag. Everyone's eyes widen in excitement as he sticks his hand into the bag and slowly pulls out the black Book Of The Dead.

"I have heard told of this book, but I never truly believed it existed. This, good gentlemen, is a most priceless treasure. Henderson kicks the sandy floor in anger." I wouldn't trade ya for a brass spittoon!"

"Yeah! It's supposed to be made outta pure gold!" Daniels kicks the chest; it breaks open, unfolding to reveal a lower compartment. Inside, are five jewel encrusted canopic jars (one is shattered and without jewels)

The two camps have now joined together. O'Connell and Beni are roasting chunks of hairy meat over a fire. Jonathan wrinkles his nose, disgusted by the smell."What is this stuff? It smells like our late friend, the warden."

O'Connell and Beni both grin. Jonathan looks horrified." You did not!?... We're not!?"

"Rat gizzards. They smell bad and taste worse, but that's the best the desert has to offer." The gloating Americans sit down, fondling their jewelled jars.

Henderson says "O'Connell, whadaya think these honey's'll fetch back home?"

While Burns states,"We heard you gentlemen found yerselves a nice gooey mummy. Congratulations." Daniels adds on, "Ya know if ya dry him out, you can sell him for firewood." The Americans laugh.

"You boy obviously don't realize how big a discovery our gooey mummy really is. He was eaten alive meaning that he did something bad enough that the Pharaoh decided not only does he deserve a sharp, red hot poker up his nose, to cut up his brain into small pieces, then have it all ripped out through his nostrils, he..." Evelyn walks up, sits down and drops a pile of big dusty bug skeletons onto the ground, cutting Rose off, "Scarabs, flesh eaters, I found them inside our friend's coffin. They can stay alive for years living off the flesh of a corpse, or in this case..." She shrugs, then looks at the roasting meat.

"..famished."

O'Connell, Jonathan and the Americans stare at the bug skeletons, disgusted."Are you saying somebody threw these things in with our guy and they slowly ate him alive?"

"Very slowly."

"He certainly was not a popular fellow when they planted him." Jonathan states.

"Must of got a little too frisky with the Pharaoh's daughter."Rick jokes.

"According to my readings, our friend suffered the HOM-DAI, the worst of all Ancient Egyptian curses, one reserved for only the most evil blasphemers. In all of my research, I've never read of this curse actually having been performed."

"That bad huh?" Rose looks concerned, as though she was worried for the nameless mummy.

"Yes, they never used it because they feared it so. it's written, that if a victim of the HOM-DAI should ever arise, he would bring with him the ten plagues of Egypt."

"The ten plagues?... You mean all ten plagues." Rick states.

"Like what that Moses guy did to that Pharaoh guy?" Beni faintly questioned.

"That's one way of putting it." Evy replies.

"Let's see, there was frogs, flies, locusts..."

"Hail and fire."

"The sun turning black."

"Water turning to blood."

"And my personal favourite: people covered in boils and sores." All the men say sharing nervous looks, they are really spooked. Evelyn just laughs at them, then pulls a meat stick out of the fire."Fried gizzard anyone?"

Having just freshened up for bed, Evelyn exits the temple and steps past the sleeping Diggers. She spots the Egyptologist, with his jeweled canopic jar snug under one arm, the Book Of The Dead laying loose under the other. Evelyn stares at the Book, nervously biting her lip, then she sneaks over, carefully steals it, and quickly tip-toes away. Lying on some blankets by the campfire, O'Connell rolls over and sees Evelyn, sitting wide-eyed, staring at the Book."You sure you outta be playin, around with that?"

"It's just a book, no harm ever came from a book." Evelyn opens the cover. The fire flickers. She and O'Connell share a nervous look, then Evelyn shrugs and starts reading.

"Ahm kum Ra. Ahm kum Dei." Evelyn continues reading the book aloud in Ancient Egyptian.

As Evelyn's voice is heard in Imhotep's chamber and in his sarcophagus. Over the lip of the coffin, closer and closer towards Imhotep's rotten, twisted head, and his putrid face, and then suddenly his crusty eyelids pop open! Revealing empty sockets.

The Egyptologist sits bolt upright. Quickly looks around, sees Evelyn reading the Book. He gets up and runs for her."NO! NOOOO! YOU MUST NOT!"

He skids to a stop as a strange, piercing whine is heard, coming from out in the desert. O'Connell and the others all leap to their feet. The Americans run out of their tents. The sound gets louder and closer. And then from out of the darkness a huge walls of locusts swirl into camp and envelops everyone. O'Connell grabs Evelyn, and with Jonathan and Rose at their side they race for the crevice, trying to fend off the horrid vermin as they go. Beni and the Americans run for the temple. The Egyptologist is covered in locusts. He stares at The Book Of The Dead, looking haunted."What have we done?"

O'Connell, Evelyn, Rose and Jonathan race down the labyrinth, slapping at themselves and picking locusts out of their hair."Did you see that!? Grasshoppers! Billions of grasshoppers!"

"That's one of the plagues, right? The grasshopper plague!"

"This is not a plague. It's generational. Every so many years the locusts of Egypt have a population explosion and they all take flight." Evelyn steps forward, something squishes. O'Connell lowers his torch, the entire floor is filled with slimy frogs. "Okay,...and what about frogs?"

(The Americans, Beni and the Diggers race into a passageway. Burns is knocked down, his bifocals skitter across the ground, they get crushed in the stampede. Burns staggers to his feet, squinting. Blurry figures vanish into the darkness,"Daniels! Henderson!")

The ground under O'Connell, Evelyn, Jonathan and Rose starts to shake. Then suddenly, right in front of them, hundreds of chittering scarab beetles boil up out of the sand. Start scurrying towards them. Evelyn screams. Jonathan screams. Rose screams. Even Rick almost screams. They turn around and haul-ass.

Burns staggers down a passageway, squinting, his hands out in front of him, groping, trying not to bump into anything. Then ten feet in front of him, a dark, blurry figure steps out." Daniels?... is that you?"

Burns half-blindly staggers forward. The Figure doesn't move.

"Henderson?" Burns trips, stumbles forward, towards the Figure, his hands reach out and sink into Imhotep's putrid chest cavity. Burns jumps like a scalded cat, pulls his hands out and looks at them, his hands are covered in molten flesh rot. He starts to scream. A skeletal hand clamps over his mouth.


	6. Chapter 6

O'Connell, Rose, Evelyn and Jonathan race up the staircase, just ahead of the mass of scurrying, chittering scarabs. Rick leaps out onto a pedestal. Jonathan jumps up next to him. Evelyn and Rose jump up into a grotto on the other side of the narrow stairway. The horrible herd of vicious scarabs scurries between them, their ear-piercing critters send shivers up the girl's spines. They leans back and the wall moves. Evelyn and Rose fall backwards through an opening. O'Connell and Jonathan watch the scarabs vanish up the staircase. Then they look across the way. Rose and Evelyn are gone.

"EVY!? ROSE!?"

Rose and Evelyn sit up, shakes the sand out of their hair, and fearfully look around. It's almost pitch black. They get up and feel their way along the dark walls. They rounds a corner. A shaft of moonlight filters in through a crack in the ceiling. A man stands in the middle of the room. Evelyn and Rose walk towards him.

"Oh thank goodness, you're one of the Americans, aren't you?" Just as they reaches him, he turns around. It's Burns. Both of his eyes are missing. He stares at them with vacant sockets. Rose and Evelyn scream in horror and backs away, hyperventilating, Rose bumps into something. Her and Evelyn scream again and spin around; it's the mummy. With two fresh eyeballs in his sockets. Evelyn and Rose scream again and backs away into a wall. Evy's hair is down, her face is dirty and sweaty, her blouse is ripped, her dress is torn. Rose is in a torn night gown, hair loose, like Evy her face is dirty and sweaty.

Imhotep sqints. "Anck-su-namun? Nefertari?"

O'Connell is feeling his way around inside the grotto."Damn-it! Must be a trap door around here or somethin'."

And then they heat men screaming, and suddenly, Henderson, Daniels and one of the Diggers come running down the stairs."RUN, YOU SONS-A-BITCHES! RUUUUN!"

O'Connell and Jonathan join them as they hear the herd of chittering scarabs coming their way. The Digger suddenly trips and falls. O'Connell slows down, about to go back and help him. But it's too late. The Digger screams in horror as the herd of scarabs run over him, eating straight through him, leaving behind the Digger's half eaten skeleton. Daniels, Henderson and Jonathan react in horror. O'Connell's already running, races right past them. The others turn and haul-ass.

Imhotep steps forward, the sand around him seems to magnetize, swirling and dancing around his flaking skeletal legs. Rose and Evelyn start backing away, horrified, they look at Burns. "Help me, ...please, ...help me." Rose quietly whimpers.

Burns opens his mouth, but can only gurgle and moan because hid tongue is missing. Imhotep grabs him, throws him to the ground and sets his skeletal foot on Burns' chest, like a big game hunter standing on his kill. Imhotep then parts his fetid lips, a fresh tongue flaps between his rotten teeth.

" **Come my Princess Nefertari!"** Rose shivers in fear as Evelyn cowers away from him.

Suddenly, O'Connell comes flying around the corner and runs right up to them."Would you quit playin, around! Let's get outta here already!" O'Connell sees the look in their eyes and turns around, at the sight of Imhotep, O'Connell jumps back in fright."WHOA!"

O'Connell, Rose and Evelyn start backing away down the wall. Imhotep glides sideways with them, like a tiger cornering his prey, the sand around him swirls and dances. Burns starts to crawl away, whimpering as he goes. Imhotep suddenly stops and unhinges his skeletal jaw, his skinless mouth stretches to an inhuman size, and he lets out a horrific, primordial shriek. "NEFERTARI!"

Rose screams. Evelyn screams. O'Connell shudders, then, embarrassed by his fear, he opens his own mouth and roars right back at him."Ahhhhhhhh!" Then blasts him with the elephant gun, **BLAM**! Through the smoke and flame, Imhotep blown off his feet, his ribcage half torn away. O'Connell grabs Evelyn who grabs Rose and they run.

As the sand and wind whip through the ruins as O'Connell, Evelyn and Rose stumble up out of the crevice and come face-to-face with ten armed Medjai. The Medjai quickly raise their guns. Rick, Rose and Evelyn quickly raise their hands. Jonathan, Henderson, Daniels and the Egyptologist are already on their knees, hands over their heads. Ardeth Bay steps forward.

"I told you to leave or die, you refused, and now you may have killed us all. For you have unleashed the creature that we have feared for more than four thousand years."

"Relax, I got him." Rick states.

"No mortal weapons can kill this creature. He is not of this world."

"Are we talkin, about the same creature? The walking corpse? Really big mouth? Really bad breath?" Rose shutters behind Rick when he talks about the creature.

Beni slowly backs up around Anubis, eyes wide, gun up. He turns around, Imhotep is right there! Beni screams, backs away and opens fire. Six gunshots perforate Imhotep, but have no effect except to splatter molten flesh rot onto the back wall. Beni retreats into a corner, scared shitless. Imhotep moves forward, his one hand trying to stop the molten mummy guts from oozing out of the large shotgun hole in his side.

Beni drops his gun and grabs at the chains around his neck, religious symbols and icons dangle from each chain. Beni holds the first one up: A Christian crucifix. He quickly makes the sign of-the cross and blesses himself in English:"May the good Lord protect and watch over me as a shepherd watches over his flock. And may Satan in all his forms be vanquished forever."

It has no effect on Imhotep, who continues forward. Beni quickly grabs at the other symbols and icons, holding them out towards Imhotep, one after the other, trying to slow his progress: an Islamic Sword and Crescent Moon necklace; a Hindu Brahma medallion; a small Buddhist Bodhisattva statue. All while blessing himself in Arabic, Hindi, Chinese and Latin. Nothing works. Imhotep's skeletal hand reaches for Beni's throat. Tears run down Beni's cheeks he's so freaked. And that's when he holds up The Star Of David and blesses himself in Hebrew. Imhotep stops in his tracks. His hand lowers. His grotesque new eyeballs stare at Beni.

" **The language of the slaves.** " Looking at him quizzically. Imhotep takes a step back.

" **I may have use for you. And the rewards will be great.** " Imhotep reaches into his tattered robe, and then holds out his fetid hand, filled with squirming maggots. Beni cringes, about to throw up, but then the maggots part, revealing a tiny pile of little jewels. Beni's eyes widen. Imhotep raises his other hand, it holds Anck-su-namun's broken canopic jar.

" **Where are the other sacred jars?** "

Several Medjai drag Burns up, he stares out with vacant sockets. Daniels and Henderson are especially horrified."You bastards!"

"What did you do to him!?"

"We saved him! Saved him before the creature could finish his work. Now leave, all of you, quickly, before he finishes you all."

"You're not going to kill us?" Evelyn elbows Jonathan in the ribs. As Rose looks at him as though he is insane.

"We must now hunt him down, and try and find a way to kill him, before he consumes the earth. Allah be with us.

Ardeth Bay and the Medjai start heading down into the crevice. O'Connell yells at them, trying to convince himself."I told ya, I already got him!"

Ardeth Bay stops and looks back, deadly serious."Know this, the creature will be coming for you. He must consummate the curse. And until he does, he will never eat, he will never sleep, and he will never stop." Ardeth Bay turns and jumps down into the crevice.

O'Connell and Jonathan boost Evelyn and Rose up onto a camel. Daniels and Henderson throw Burns up onto another. The Egyptologist, still clutching The Book Of The Dead, gets up on yet another. They all head off into the dark, windblown desert... And then a skeletal hand suddenly punches up out of the sand, accompanied by the most horrific, primordial shriek imaginable. "NEFERTARI!"

A British flag flies over British soldiers manning the front gate. our tired, disheveled Heroes saunter up on their dusty camels. The Soldiers check their papers, then let them enter.

A steamer trunk is slammed to the floor and thrown open. O'Connell chucks a load of dresses into the trunk."I thought you didn't believe in this stuff!?"

O'Connell heads for the closet. Evelyn unpacks the dresses,"Having an encounter with a four thousand year old walking-talking corpse tends to convert one."

"Forget it, we're out the door down the hall and gone."

"No, we are not."

O'Connell throws a handful of her underthings into the trunk,"Oh yes we are."

O'Connell continues to pack Evelyn's clothes as she continues to unpack them:"No we are not. We woke him up, and we must try and stop him."

"We?! What we?! You didn't read that book. I told you not to play around with that thing."

"Alright then, Me, I, ...I read the book, I woke him up and I intend to stop him." Evelyn stutters out.

O'Connell angrily stretches a bra between his hands."How!? You heard the man, no mortal weapons can kill this guy."

Evelyn grabs the bra and throws it into a drawer."Then we'll have to find some immortal ones."

"There goes that stuff again. Not me, I am outta here!" O'Connell stuffs a pile of Evelyn's shoes into the trunk. Evelyn kicks the lid shut, slamming it on his fingers. O'Connell yelps and angrily storms around the room sucking his fingers as Evelyn follows him.

"According to that Book, once this creature has been reborn, his curse will spread, and as he grows in strength, so will his curse grow, infecting the people until the whole of the earth is destroyed."

"Yeah? So? Is that My problem?"

Evelyn says incredulous,"It's everybody's problem!"

"Look lady, I appreciate you saving my life and all, but when I signed on, I agreed to take you out there and bring you back, and I did, now were even, end of job, end of story, contract terminated."

"That's what I am to you? A contract?" Evy quietly says.

"You can either tag along with me, or you can stay here and play around with mister Maggot."

"I'm staying."

"FINE" O'Connell storms out and slams the door. Then the door opens and O'Connell's hand reaches back in and throws a handful of frilly panties to the floor and slams the door.

O'Connell angrily strides through the compound. He sees Beni coming up the path with a man dressed in hooded robes, his face covered by an ornate death mask. Imhotep disguised.

"Beni ya little stink weed, where did you slink off to?"

"You left me! You left me in the desert to rot."

"Oh yeah, ...sorry bout that," gesturing to Imhotep. "So who's this guy?"

"This is Prince Imhotep, High Priest of Osiris."

"Oh, hey, how ya doin'?" O'Connell sticks out his hand, Imhotep instantly recoils O'Connell gives him the once-over.

Beni quickly covers. "The Prince does not like to be touched by other humans. A Silly eastern superstition, I'm afraid."

"Yeah, well, we all got our little problems today don't we?" Rick says.

"He has come to help mister Burns. Somehow I feel responsible."

"Don't gimme that, you never had any scruples."

"Do you know where I can steal some?" O'Connell fake-punches him. Beni flinches. O'Connell gives Imhotep a look as he strides off."See ya around, Padre." Imhotep's grotesque new eyes glare out from behind the mask.

At the Casbah, the proverbial den-of-iniquity. Hard men, hard women and hard liquor. Lots of deals going down. An older guy with a walrus moustache is drunk and talking to some tough customers. He wears British WWI fighter pilot gear. "I'm the last of the Royal Force still stationed here, you know? All the other laddies died in the air and were buried in the sand."

The tough customers shove him away. Winston staggers over to O'Connell, Rose and Jonathan at the bar, not missing a beat. "Ever since the end of the Great War, there hasn't been a single challenge worthy of a man like me."

"I've heard it before, Winston," O'Connell shoves him away. Winston staggers back to Jonathan."I just wish I would've chucked it with the other laddies, gone down in a flame of glory, instead of sitting around here, rotting from boredom and booze!"

Jonathan shoves him towards another group of unlucky sods as Henderson and Daniels sidle up to the bar next to the three of them.

Burns, now tongue-less, talks with a severe impediment, "The drawer there, spectacles." he tries to laugh,"As you see, I won't be needing them." Imhotep opens the drawer and pulls out some bifocals. He puts the bifocals on over his death mask, and grins broadly, his rotted teeth showing through the mouth hole.

"Mister Burns, Prince Imhotep thanks you for your spectacles,...and for your eyes,...and for your tongue."

The expression on Burns' face starts to change, very puzzled."But I am afraid more is needed, the Prince says he must finish the job, consummate the curse which you and your friends have brought down upon yourselves." A look of pure fear registers on Burns, face. Beni quickly backs away and runs out of the room. Imhotep picks up the sacred canopic jar, then removes the death mask, revealing his hideous, shattered corpse-skull.

Three shot glasses clink together. O'Connell, Jonathan and Henderson slug 'em down, all three of them instantly spit out the liquid. Half the bar spits out their drinks as well.

"Sweet Jesus! That tasted just like,...like..."

"Blood." They all look at each other, even more nervous.

"And the rivers and waters of Egypt went red and were as blood." A look passes over O'Connell's face, a realization.

"He's here." He suddenly jumps away from the bar and runs for the door, Rose follows. "Who's here!?"

"The guy! The Priest! THE MUMMY!"

Lightening flashes as O'Connell races across the compound, knocking several Soldiers out of his way, panic stricken."Evelyn! EVELYYYYNN!"

Evelyn calmly steps into a courtyard carrying a handful of books. A blast of thunder and lightening scares her. She drops half the books. Then a hand grabs her! She jumps again and drops the rest of the books. It's O'Connell, breathing hard with Rose close behind him.

"We got problems." And that's when a barrage of hail and fire slams into the courtyard. O'Connell and Evelyn jump back. A water fountain bursts into steam. A wooden trellis catches fire. O'Connell and Evelyn run under the eaves as soldiers, servants and camels run in every direction, trying to avoid the maelstrom.

"He's here! I saw him! That thing is here!"

"The creature!? Are you sure!?" O'Connell gives her an incredulous look and gestures at the hail and fire."Pretty sure!"

The hail and fire come to a stop. Everything goes dead quiet. O'Connell, Rose and Evelyn freeze. And then a blood curdling scream is heard coming from the living quarters directly above them. They all race up the stairs.

O'Connell, Rose and Evelyn race into the room, past the Servant who is running out screaming. They skid to a stop as they spot Burns, or what's left of him, lying dead on the floor, his body is shrivelled to half its size. Drained of all organs and liquids. O'Connell, Evelyn and Rose are shocked. Then they hear a loud moan and notice Imhotep standing on the far side of the room. O'Connell draws his gun. Imhotep is regenerating: A thick skin forms over powerful new musculature. His tendons ripple. His bones bulge and reform. His mouth opens to an inhuman size as he moans and cries out, in severe pain. And then it's over. And he looks like an incredibly muscular, corpse-like vision from hell. O'Connell, Rose and Evelyn are stunned. "We are in serious trouble." Imhotep starts to move towards them, staring at Rose.

Rose starts to once again see the images of Imhotep from the past. _**"Be safe, My Heart. We will see you when you get back."**_ _Nefertari kisses his lips, after a moment he kneels down to kiss his seven year old sons forehead. "_ _ **I will be back, Husani. Look after you mother and sibling, while I am gone."**_ _Imhotep leans over and kisses his wife bulging stomach._ At Ricks voice Rose is snapped back to what is happening in front of her, as the kind man from her visions stalks toward them. "Back off, creep."

Imhotep keeps coming. Rick opens fire blasting Imhotep. Bullets rip through his body. Though Imhotep doesn't seem to mind. Jonathan, Henderson and Daniels run into the room. They're all stunned at the sight of Imhotep. O'Connell steps forward, throws a right hook, punches Imhotep in the face, his fist goes through Imhotep's skull and gets stuck deep inside his head. Rick stares at it, shocked, then quickly yanks his fist back out. The area of Imhotep's face that came into contact with O'Connell's fist quickly degenerates and decays, right down to the bone, as if Rick's hand instantly infected it.

Imhotep angrily turns, grabs O'Connell, and with no effort, throws him across the room and into Jonathan and the others knocking them down. Imhotep looks at his hand, the one that just grabbed Rick, it starts to shrivel and decay. He quickly turns to Evelyn. Evelyn backs away into a wall, terrorized. Imhotep steps up to her.

" **You saved me from the undead. I thank you.** " He turns and walks to Rose leaning in, about to kiss her with his decayed face. And that's when a white cat jumps onto the piano, hissing. Imhotep shrieks. The balcony doors blow open. And Imhotep spins into a blasts of wind and sand and swirls out the doors. Gone. O'Connell, Evelyn, Rose, Jonathan and Daniels stand transfixed. Henderson kneels next to Burns, shrivelled body, horrified. "The curse. The curse."

O'Connell, Jonathan, Rose, Henderson and Daniels follow Evelyn across the Ramses Museum.

"There's only one person I know who can possibly give us some answers." They round a corner and come upon the Curator, who is talking with Ardeth Bay. Everybody stops.

"YOU!" O'Connell and the American's quickly draw their guns. Ardeth Bay just scowls. The Curator nods his head.

"Misses Carnahan. Gentlemen."

"What is he doing here?" Evy asks sourly.

"Do you truly wish to know? Or would you prefer to just shoot us?" Everybody tenses, guns up.

Then O'Connell uncocks his.38."I just saw my fist vanish into some guy's head." He slides his gun back into his shoulder-holster."I'm willin', to go on a little faith, here.

"You will not believe it."

"Try me."

Everyone is assembled around the tomb display of Seti The First. His chariot and sword. The Curator sits on Seti's throne.

"We are part of an ancient secret society, the cult-of-the-Medjai, and we have a sacred mission, passed down through thirty-nine generations. For over four thousand years we have guarded The City Of The Dead. we are sworn at manhood to, do any and all in our power to stop the High Priest Imhotep from being reborn into this world."

"And because of you, we have failed."

Evelyn states appalled."And you think this justifies killing innocent people!?"

"To have stopped this creature? Yes!" Both Ardeth and the Curator state together.

"Okay, let's cut to the chase. He's afraid of cats, what's that about?"

"According to the ancients, cat's are the guardians at the gates of the underworld. Imhotep will fear them until he is fully regenerated, and then he will fear nothing."

Daniels is totally freaked out, he looks at O'Connell."Right! And ya know how he gets fully regenerated?! By killing everybody who opened that chest and sucking us dry! That's how!"

"Yes, the creature must first try and regenerate, and then he will attempt to resurrect the one he has loved for more than four thousand years."

"Anck-su-namun." Evy mutter, while Rose whispers," Nefertari." The Curator and Ardeth Bay look at Rose and Evelyn, thunderstruck.

"In the necropolis, when I... we saw him, alive,...walking, he called me Anck-su-namun. Then when he looked at Rose he said Nefertari. And then in mister Burns' quarters he tried to kiss Rose."

Ignoring what Evy said, the Curator continues,"It is because it was you who read from the Book. He has chosen you to be-the human sacrifice needed to regenerate the body of Anck-su-namun."

"It wont be Anck-su-namun that he tries to bring back." Rose says calmly.

"Of course she will be, who else but his first love would he try to resurrect." The Curator scolds Rose.

Rose, now feed up with the Curator ignoring her snaps,"He will try to bring back Princess Nefertari. Because she was his wife, they had two children together."

"How do you know that?" The Curator asks as everyone looks at Rose.

"Ever since around the time his sarcophagus fell, I have been having vision. Visions of the past. Of Imhotep before he was cursed, before Anck-su-namun. I don't know what happened to her and their children." Both Ardeth and the Curator look shocked and worried. Jonathan scratches his ear with the barrel of his pistol."This is not good. Not good at all."

Ardeth Bay has been staring out a wall of windows."Tonight is the full moon. The moon of Osiris. It will begin tonight."

Everyone follows Ardeth Bay's eyes, through the windows we can see the sun, which is now going into a full eclipse. "...and he stretched forth his hands towards the heavens, and there was darkness throughout the land of Egypt." Jonathan recounts.

O'Connell looks out a window at the British Soldiers manning the walls. Above and beyond them, is the black sun.


	7. Chapter 7

Evelyn and Jonathan are pacing the foyer.

"We must stop him from regenerating." She turns to Daniels and Henderson,"Who opened that chest?"

"Well, there was me and Daniels here and then poor Burns of course, oh yeah, and that Egyptologist fella."

O'Connell turns from the window,"What about my buddy, Beni?"

"Naw, he scrammed outta there."

"We must find the Egyptologist and bring him back here to the safety of the fort, before the creature can get to him." O'Connell looks at Evelyn, Rose, Daniels and Henderson.

"Okay,...Evelyn, you and Rose wait here, you two come with me."

All three of them pounce on him at once,"The hell with that! I'm not goin' nowhere! We're safe here." Rose nods agreeing that this is the safest place for them."Yeah, I'm not leavin, this fort for nothin'."

"Who put you in charge? You can't just leave me behind like some old suitcase. I'm the one responsible for this mess and I intend to be the one to clean it up."

O'Connell just shakes his head and sighs. Totally put-upon. Then he takes Evelyn, points for Rose to go into the room then he shoves Evy into the bedroom, slams the door and locks it with a skeleton key. From inside her room we can hear Evelyn pounding on the door and yelling while Rose tries to calm her.

O'Connell throws the skeleton key to Daniels."Keep an eye on her. If you leave her door, I'll rip your spleen out. C'mon, Jonathan."

Jonathan swallows hard and points to himself."Me?"

The Egyptologist stumbles through the dark alleys, looking haunted. He clutches the Book of The Dead in one hand and his sacred canopic jar in the other. Imhotep is stalking him. A street vendor turns and sees Imhotep's horribly decayed face. He reacts and scurries away. Imhotep lifts his robe, covers his face, and moves in on the Egyptologist, who is heading into the bazaar.

Beni is ransacking the Egyptologist joint, pulling out drawers and files and throwing them on the floor. He finds a silver pocket watch, shakes it, then throws it into his pocket, then he starts tipping over bookcases and clearing shelves.

"Well, well, well." Beni spins around. O'Connell and Jonathan stand in the door.

"Lemme guess, spring cleaning?"Beni turns and runs for an open window. O'Connell grabs a chair, flings it into his path. Beni trips and crashes into a wall. O'Connell strides over, grabs him and lifts him up the wall.

Beni's feet dangle off the floor."Where's your new friend?"

"What friend? You're my only friend." O'Connell quickly slides his knife up under Beni's chin.

"Then you got no excuse for living. What the hell you doin, being buddies with this creep, Beni? What's in it for you?"

"It is better to be the right hand of the Devil,...than in his path. As long as I serve him, I am immune."

"Immune from what?"

"You shall see." Beni says cryptically.

"What are you looking for? Lie, and I'll slit your throat."

O'Connell shoves the knife deeper into Beni's skin."The book! The black book they found at Hamunaptra! Imhotep wants it back. Said to me it would be worth it's weight in diamonds."

"What does he want the book for?"

"Something about bringing his dead wife back to life. He needs the book..." he looks at Jonathan,"And your sister."

O'Connell looks at Jonathan. Beni seizes the moment and knees Rick in the balls. O'Connell doubles over and collapses. Beni leaps out the window. Jonathan cringes."That looked rather painful."

"Ya know, ever since I met you, my luck has been for crap."

"Yes, I know, I do that to people."And that's when they hear a blood curdling scream coming from down in the bazaar. Rick and Jonathan scramble to the window and look out.

Down in the bazaar, people are screaming and quickly backing away from the shrivelled corpse of the Egyptologist. A partially decayed hand reaches down and takes the sacred canopic jar out of the Egyptologist's shrivelled hand. It's Imhotep, having regenerated even further. He looks up and catches eyes with O'Connell. Imhotep grins, then unhinges; his jaw, his mouth stretches to an inhuman size, and then a huge swarm of flies comes out of his mouth and races straight up at Rick and Jonathan. They both slam the shutters. The flies slam into the closed window and immediately spread throughout the bazaar. Sending people screaming and running.

O'Connell and Jonathan look at each other, panicked,"Damn-it! That's two down and only two to go."

"And then he'll be coming after Rose." They turn and race out of the office.

Daniels stares out a window, watching the British Guards at the front gate. More Soldiers march the encircling parapet. "Ten O'clock! All is well!" The lights and music from the Casbah can be heard from below.

Daniels turns from the window. Henderson sits in a chair next to Rose and Evelyn's door, chain smoking. Both look wired with fear."The hell with this. I'm goin, downstairs to get me a drink. You want somethin'?"

"Yeah, get me a glass of bourbon, a shot of bourbon and a bourbon chaser."

Daniels nods and heads out. Henderson just sits there, alone, smoking. He reaches into his jacket pocket, pulls out his sacred canopic jar and fondles it. A breeze suddenly comes in through the open window. The curtains flutter. Henderson gets up and goes over to shut it. He looks out the window. The sand races over the compound, into the window and hits Henderson square in the face just as he's about to scream. Henderson is lifted into the air by a mass of swirling sand. His body twists and turns and slowly shrivels as the life is sucked out of him. Then he collapses to the floor. On the wall above him, the shadow of the swirling sand condenses, forming a shadow of a human body. The shadow convulses as the body regenerates. And then it's over. Imhotep steps into out. He's regenerated even further and looks almost normal now, his face no longer decayed. He steps over Henderson's shriveled body and up to Rose and Evelyn's door, rattles the knob. It's locked. Imhotep grins.

Evelyn and Rose are asleep in their beds as sand begins streaming in through the keyhole, pouring onto the floor, forming a large mound. Evelyn starts to toss and turn, while Rose lays motionless. The mound of sand is gone and in it's place is Imhotep.

O'Connell and Jonathan race into the foyer and skid to a stop as they see Henderson's shrivelled body on the floor. O'Connell runs up to Evelyn and Rose's door and rattles the knob, still locked. He bends down and looks in through the keyhole.

Imhotep leans down towards Rose, about to kiss her as she sleeps. The door starts to crash and bang from O'Connell. Imhotep ignores it. And kisses Rose. His lips and mouth instantly start to degenerates and decay. Right down to the bone. The door bursts open. Rose wakes-up. Seeing Imhotep's rotted mouth kissing her. She screams and shoves him away. Imhotep's putrid mouth grimaces in sadness.

"Get your hands off the girl, pal." Imhotep's sadness turns to anger as he spins around and faces O'Connell. Imhotep licks his fetid lips.

O'Connell smirks."Nice lips." Imhotep starts to move for O'Connell. "I figured you might be here, so I brought a friend."

He throws the white cat at Imhotep. Imhotep instinctively catches it. He shrieks, drops the cat and stumbles back towards the window, which suddenly blows open. Imhotep spins like a dervish and bursts into a whirlwind of sand. Everybody covers their eyes. The Imhotep/sand-devil explodes out the window and vanishes over the compound. Jonathan aims his gun at the window, his hand shaking badly. Jonathan hugs Rose as she wipes her mouth in disgust. Daniels walks in, looks at Henderson's shrivelled body on the floor... and drops the martini glasses.

Jonathan races his big convertible through the streets, honking constantly. Evelyn sits between Rose and O'Connell, looking scared and nervous, then she gives O'Connell a look. Daniels leans forward from the back seat, filled with fear,"Shut-up! JUST SHUT-up! We gotta do somethin'! We gotta do somethin. NOW! Before it's too late!" They race into the driveway of the museum of Antiquities.

A full moon now shines down on the bazaar, still bustling with activity. Suddenly, a breeze kicks-in. Green mist begins to swirl down the street and through the stalls. The people begin to choke and cough and retch, as if being hit by a severe sickness. It's already too late. Imhotep strolls through the sickened mob, his face half rotted off, his deformed mouth grinning happily. Beni is at his side, looking very nervous. And then, one-by-one', the people silently begin to follow Imhotep, their skin now covered in disgustingly hideous boils and sores.

O'Connell, Jonathan, Rose, Daniels, the Curator and Ardeth Bay follow Evelyn as she strides through the museum."Last month I came across an inscription that mentioned The Book Of The Dead."

"That book we found at Hamunaptra?" Daniel's say quickly.

"Yes. I dismissed it, because it talked about bringing people back from the dead. A notion I was unwilling to believe."

"Believe it, sister. That's what brought our buddy back to life."

"And now he's going to use it to bring his wife back."

"And if he succeeds, the two of them together will bring about the apocalypse."The Curator joins Evelyn at her side as she heads up the stairs, everyone else in hot pursuit.

"The plagues we have seen so far, are merely Imhotep flexing his muscles. only at the moment of Nefertari's resurrection will he be truly invincible."

They reach the display cases. Evelyn quickly opens them."I'm thinking that if the black Book Of The Dead can bring people back to life.."

"...then perhaps, the golden Book Of The Living can return them to the underworld." The Curator finishes for Evy.

"Exactly..."

"So your sayin', if we find the book made outta gold..."

"...And read the sacred incantations contained inside it."

"You think it'll send this guy back to hell?"

"Correct," Rick and the Curator finish. And that's when loud chanting is heard coming from outside They all rush over to the upper windows and look down outside: A large, crazed mob covered in hideous boils and sores comes chanting up the driveway: 'Nefertari! Nefertari!'

"It has begun. The beginning of the end."

"Not quite yet it hasn't. C'mon," Evelyn dashes back to the display cases. Everyone follows.

The crazed mob crashes into the huge front doors, which are locked. They pound furiously, throwing themselves at it while chanting consistently. Imhotep solemnly comes up the driveway. The banging on the doors can be heard as Evelyn and the Curator quickly sort through broken pieces of stone tablets. The others watch. Evelyn pulls out a large piece. "Got it!"

"Got what?" The banging gets louder. Multiple windows shatter. Evelyn talks while quickly translating the tablet:"Since the black Book of The Dead was found inside the statue of Anubis, then according to this, the golden Book of The Living should be inside..."

Evelyn finds the translation in the tablet and smiles."what?"

"What?"

"WHAT!?"

"The golden Book Of The Living, is inside the statue of Horus."

"Which would be located not far to the east of the Anubis statue."

"Don't tell me we gotta go back out there?" Rick sighs.

"If we want to kill the creature, yes." Two hideous boil and sore covered men charge out of a doorway, screaming. O'Connell and Ardeth Bay grab them and chuck them over the railing. The men fly through the air and crash into the lower display cases. The front doors suddenly bursts open, the crazed mob pours into the museum. Everyone haul-ass across the balcony and down the staircase.

Jonathan sneaks out of some bushes and quickly heads for his convertible. Suddenly, a splinter group of the diseased mob comes around the side of the museum. Jonathan instantly bugs his eyes out, starts drooling, and begins chanting "Nefertari! Nefertari!"

The crazed group runs past him and heads into the front doors of the museum. Jonathan leaps into the convertible, fires it up and 180's it back over to the bushes. O'Connell, Evelyn, Daniels, Rose, Ardeth Bay and the Curator jump inside the car. Beni steps out of the museum and sees them."Imhotep! IMHOTEP!"

Imhotep looks out of the museum from the shattered upper windows just as the convertible peels out. O'Connell points a finger at Beni as they race past him."You're gonna get yours, pal!"

Imhotep unhinges his jaw, his mouth stretches to an inhuman size, he lets out one of his horrific, primordial shrieks. His disease-ridden disciples immediately begin pouring out of the front doors of the museum and chasing after the car.

The convertible speeds down the narrow bazaar street. The infected start jumping out of stalls and leaping onto the car. O'Connell and the others fight them off, throwing them overboard. More people jump on. Jonathan swerves the car, crashes through some stalls, knocking them off, but not before they manage to open the back door and yank Daniels out. He tumbles across the pavement. Gets up shooting. Backs into a corner, firing his pistol into the hideous rabble, killing several, keeping them at bay. Until his gun goes empty, CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! But the mob stays back, looking at him like rabid vultures. Daniels eyes them, filled with fear. The mob parts like the red sea as Imhotep walks through them and up to Daniels. Daniels whimpers in fear, tears pour down his cheeks. Then he gets an idea, reaches into his pocket, and pulls out his jewel encrusted sacred canopic jar. He holds it out for Imhotep. Imhotep takes it and grins. Through his tears, Daniels grins back, hopeful that he'll be spared. Somewhere in the middle of the crazed, diseased mob, everyone can hear Daniels give out a blood curdling scream...

The convertible slowly motors down the narrow alleys. Across the hood of the car from Jonathan to Evelyn to Rose to O'Connell. Ardeth Bay and the Curator are still in the back. All of them staring out the front windshield. Freaked-out. Then suddenly one of the hideous ghouls crashes through the windshield! Everybody screams. Jonathan hits the gas, losing control, the car slams into a wall. O'Connell grabs Evelyn. Jonathan grabs Rose.

"C'mon! C'mon! Let's go! Let's go!"

They all leap out of the car. But the angry, festering mob quickly surrounds them. O'Connell quickly reaches into his gunny-sack, pulls out a stick of dynamite, then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a match. He looks around for a way to light it, then reaches over and strikes it across Ardeth Bay's stubbly face. Ardeth Bay yelps. O'Connell holds the lit match near the fuse. The crazed, chanting mob gives Rick a wide berth, staring at him and the others with insane, bloodshot eyes. And then Imhotep steps through, having fully regenerated, he now looks as young, handsome and muscular as he did the day he was buried alive. Rose and Evelyn stares at him."He's gorgeous."

O'Connell gives Evy a look, the match burns his fingers. He yelps and throws it down, grabs another match and strikes it across Ardeth Bay's face again. Ardeth Bay yelps and gives Rick a look to kill. The Curator shakes his head."He has consummated the curse, now all he need do is raise Nefertari from the dead, then it will be the end of us, and the beginning for them."

Imhotep moves forward, heading right for them. O'Connell lights the fuse. Imhotep steps up to O'Connell and stops, watching the fuse burn down. It's a game of chicken. The tension mounts. The lit fuse is about to vanish inside the stick of dynamite, blowing it up, when Evelyn leans forward and blows it out. O'Connell exhales, but keeps his eyes on Imhotep, who extends his hand to Rose.

"Koontash dai na." Beni steps through the swarming mass, translating. "Take his hand and he will spare the others."

Rose hesitates, looks around at the huge, bloodthirsty crowd surrounding them, holding axes, picks and scimitars, waiting to pounce, then she looks at Imhotep, confident, powerful, invincible. She looks to Evelyn and O'Connell. "Any bright ideas?"

O'Connell talks through angry, grit teeth."Sorry, fresh out."

Rose looks back at Imhotep, then starts to reach out to take his hand. Both Evelyn and Jonathan move to stop her, but Ardeth Bay grabs them and holds them tight.

"Don't do it, Rose." Jonathan pleads.

"I have no choice." Rose's trembling hand touches Imhotep's: His hand closes around hers. Nothing happens. Imhotep smiles.

"Keetah mi pharos, aja nilo, isirlan."

"Come with me my princess. It is time to make you mine, forever." Evelyn gives Beni a nasty look, correcting him,"All eternity, idiot."

Then Rose looks at Evelyn, Jonathan and Rick and puts on her best face. "You better think of something because if he turns me into a mummy, your the first ones I'm coming after."

O'Connell almost smiles,"Got guts, lady."

"Yes, I know, and I'd like to keep them."

Imhotep suddenly notices something. He reaches forward and rips the key out from Jonathan's upper jacket pocket."Hey that's mine!"

Ardeth Bay holds Jonathan back. Imhotep pulls Rose away. Jonathan can't take it anymore, he tries to break free of Ardeth Bay's grip."Rose!"

The huge, powerful man holds him tight."Be calm. There is still time. we can stop him yet." The crowd parts for Imhotep and Rose. And then Imhotep stops and looks back at O'Connell.

"Pared oos." Rose screams."NOOO!"

Beni smiles."Kill them."

Imhotep pulls her away. They breaks free of Ardeth Bay's grip and stumbles forward."Rose!"

But the rabid vultures are already moving in for the kill. O'Connell quickly bends down, pulls open a manhole cover and shoves Jonathan down inside it, then jumps in after him. The Curator pushes Ardeth Bay towards the cistern hole.

"Go! Find a way! Kill the creature!" The Curator turns and throws himself at the mob as Ardeth Bay crawls down into the hole. The mob tears the Curator apart.

O'Connell, Jonathan, Evy and Ardeth Bay slosh their way down the watery catacomb, the infected pouring in behind them. Up ahead, a light suddenly shines in from another cistern hole, and then more of the infected crowd drop down, screeching like rats. Rick jags right, pushing Jonathan and Ardeth Bay ahead of him, he strikes a match off the wall, lights the nubby fuse on a stick of dynamite, throws it, and runs like hell. Fire blast incinerating a bunch of infected.

The explosion blows a cistern cover fifty feet into the air, followed by a mass of flames... A sewer grate is kicked out of a wall. O'Connell, Evelyn, Jonathan and Ardeth Bay climb out of the hole and into an alley. "We gotta get her back."

"I'm with you, old man. No one touches one of my sisters like that and gets away with it.

O'Connell looks at Ardeth Bay,"You know where he's taking her?"

"Yes. To Hamunaptra. To perform the ritual."

Jonathan looks worried."And what ritual would that be?"

"The ritual to bring the body of Nefertari's back to life."

"And how does one do that?"

"By reading the Book Of The Dead." Ardeth states plainly.

"Oh yes, of course."

"And then killing your sister." Evelyn's eyes grow huge in fright.

"Excuse me?"

Ardeth Bay looks at O'Connell,"Imhotep is now able to cross the desert with great haste."

Jonathan taps him in the shoulder,"Begging your pardon, but I wasn't quite clear on that last part."

Ardeth Bay ignores him,"If he arrives before us, it will be too late."

"Did you say 'kill' my sister?"

O'Connell smiles,"I know how to beat him to it."

Jonathan's bashed-in convertible steams it's way up to a set of semi-abandoned Quonset huts. A single WWI biplane with R.A.F. insignias sits in the sand beside them. A sign reads: HIS MAJESTY'S ROYAL AIR CORP QUONSET HUT

O'Connell, Jonathan, Evelyn and Ardeth Bay stand before Winston Havlock, the massive dunes of Erfoud as our background.

"So what's your little problem got to do with His Majesty's Royal Air Corp?"

"Not a god-damned thing." States O'Connell.

Winston looks intrigued."Is it dangerous?"

"You probably won't live through it."

This really interests him."By Jove, do you really think so?"

"Everybody else we've bumped into has died, why not you?" Jonathan and Evy say.

Winston nods his head, he's hooked."So what's the challenge, then?"

"To save the damsel in distress, kill the bad guy and steal his treasure."

A slow grin spreads across Winston's face, then he gives them a snappy salute."Winston Havlock at your service, sir!"

Way off across the desert, a large sand-devil races over the dunes. The sandy whirlwind comes to a stop and starts to dissipate. Rose and Beni are suddenly ejected out of it, they land in a dune. The swirling sand condenses and forms into Imhotep. He looks up into the sky, listening carefully.

Rose shakes the sand out of her hair and looks at Beni."What just happened?"

"All I remember is him turning into a blast of sand,...and then I remember nothing." Then they hear a plane in the sky and look up.

The wind whips at Winston in the cockpit. O'Connell sits in the gunner's compartment with Evy half on his lap, half on the seat. Jonathan is strapped spread-eagle across the left wing, Ardeth Bay is tied tight to the right. Both men are scared out of their wits and screaming in fear.

Imhotep's jaw unhinges, his mouth opens to an inhuman size, he lets fly with another one of his horrible shrieks. And a massive wall of sand rises up out of the desert.

O'Connell watches the desert below him come alive and rise up towards the plane. Winston looks over the side and sees what's coming. He laughs, throws the throttle, and puts the plane into a dive."Hang on, men!"

The sandstorm chases the diving, twisting biplane. Getting closer and closer, about to engulf it. O'Connell looks back into the blinding sand and sees a giant face forming inside the sandstorm. It's Imhotep. Grinning. O'Connell grabs the Lewis machine-gun, cocks the bracket and fires, blasting away at Imhotep's giant face inside the sandstorm. Evelyn grips Rick tightly. Imhotep's face begins to laugh, then his jaw unhinges, his mouth opens wide, and he engulfs the plane.

Winston blindly fights for control, elated."We're going down!" The biplane spins inside the blowing sand. Engines roaring. Wind howling. Jonathan, Evelyn and Ardeth Bay screaming. Winston Havlock laughing."Here I come, laddies!" O'Connell braces himself for impact.

Rose leaps to her feet and runs over to Imhotep."Stop it! You'll kill them!"

Imhotep grabs her, pulls her close, her beautiful eyes stare into his shockingly intense ones. Then he kisses her, hard. Rose's eyes widen, stunned and mesmerized, she relaxes for a moment then she pushes herself away and falls back into the sand. Imhotep laughs.

The biplane smashes over a dune, rolls over and crashes upside-down into another dune. The sand swirls as O'Connell falls out of the gunner's compartment along with Evy.

The left wing is jammed into the dune, Jonathan hangs upside down."Excuse me...A little help would be useful...IF IT'S NOT TOO MUCH TROUBLE!" Jonathan snaps.

O'Connell goes to help Jonathan. Ardeth Bay stumbles over to the gunner's compartment and tears the Lewis gun off it's mount. He throws the machine-gun over one shoulder, a cartridge belt over the other and staggers away. O'Connell and Jonathan look into the cockpit. Winston Havlock is dead with a smile on his face. The plane suddenly starts to move, the sand sinks under their feet, they quickly high-tail-it away. O'Connell, Evelyn, Jonathan and Ardeth Bay make it to some rocks and look back. The biplane, with Winston Havlock inside, slides away over a dune. O'Connell gives it a salute. The plane vanishes over the dune and into the swirling sand...

O'Connell, Jonathan, Evelyn and Ardeth Bay come down a ravine in the volcano and look out over the ruins of Hamunaptra."Okay, now what the hell does this Horus guy look like?"

"He's a big fellow with pointy ears and a face like a falcon." Jonathan states before Evy can give an overly detailed description.

"Got it" Carrying torches, Rick, Evy, Jonathan and Ardeth Bay make their way down a long, winding, narrow staircase. Heading into the bowels of the necropolis. A true passageway to hell.

Rose follows Imhotep into the underground cemetery. She stops at the sight of all the big hairy rats scurrying through the mausoleums and over the gravestones. Beni shoves his rifle into her back and pushes her forward. "Keep moving."

Rose gives him a look."You know, nasty little fellows such as yourself, always get their comeuppance."

Beni suddenly looks worried."Yeah?"

"Oh yes, always," Beni looks even more worried, he nervously starts chewing on his lip. All three of them walk over the bridge crossing the disgusting detritus moat. Rose looks down at it, horrified.

O'Connell and Ardeth Bay are busy digging out a collapsed doorway. Evelyn is being the look out. Jonathan notices an amethyst scarab on the far wall.

"I say, look at that." He walks over and tries to jiggle it free. It comes loose in his hand. He looks at the scarab in his palm. It starts to glow. And then something inside it starts to wiggle. "Say, gents! You should come have a look at this."

The wiggling continues; long, agonizing slow until a scarab breaks out of it's cocoon and instantly burrows into Jonathan's palm. Jonathan starts to freak out and screams. Evelyn stares at Jonathan with worried eyes. O'Connell runs up and rips the arm off Jonathan's shirt. The scarab is now burrowing up Jonathan's arm. O'Connell whips out his butterfly-knife, snaps it open and grabs Jonathan's arm. Jonathan's eyes widen in terror as the knife passes in front of his face. Jonathan screams louder, obviously being cut open. O'Connell's hand flicks something away. The scarab hits the floor and immediately starts scurrying back towards Jonathan, wanting to finish the job. O'Connell pulls out his gun and blows it away, **BLAM**!

The gunshot echoes into the cemetery as Imhotep, Rose and Beni step up to the strange altar, where four thousand years ago Imhotep tried to bring Nefertari back to life. Imhotep scowls at the sound and angrily reaches into a canopic jar. He pulls out the crusted remains of Anck-su-namun's heart, crushes it to dust in his hand and starts reading from The Book Of The Dead. Then he blows the dust against a mausoleum wall, the wall starts to come alive. Rose and Beni stare at the wall, both of them wide-eyed. Two forms emerge from the mausoleum's wall. Horrific-looking mummified corpses. Two of Imhotep's long dead Priest. They bow to Imhotep, then turn and move off down a passageway.

O'Connell helps Ardeth Bay mend Jonathan's wound, while Evy scolds him."From now on, don't touch anything. Not a damn thing. Keep your hands off the furniture, got it?" Jonathan swallows hard and nods vigorously.

Imhotep prepares the altar while speaking in Hebrew. Beni holds his gun on Rose, translating:"Prince Imhotep wants your heart."

Rose blushes, feeling complimented by the handsome prince."Tell him, I'm truly flattered... but I like having it be in my chest."

Imhotep continues speaking while laying the four jewel encrusted canopic jars next to the shattered one."He wants your heart and your brain, your liver, your kidneys..." Rose's eyes widen,"... and how do you say? Those slimy things, in your stomach?"

"Intestines."

"Yeah! Them."

Rose can't believe it, she furiously turns to Imhotep."You only want me for my organs?!"

Imhotep looks at her and grins! Imhotep stares at her, intensely. He sends Beni away with a dark look. Rose closes her eyes waiting, when Imhotep kisses her, Rose's eye snap open. She is no longer tied to a stone table and all around her is alight with the flickers of torches. " _ **My love come to bed it is still our wedding night."**_ _Nefertari coos to Imhotep, while her silken over robe hangs open showing that is all that she is wearing. Imhotep's eyes rake lustfully over her body before walking over, laying her down on their bed and embracing her._ (I don't write sex scenes or rape so sorry, not sorry.) Rose passes out as Imhotep finishes he throws his cloak on Rose's bare body before continuing the prep for the ritual.

O'Connell squeezes through a small crevice in a wall and drops to the floor of a dark chamber. He picks up his gunny- sack and scans the darkness. Something glitters. Jonathan, Evelyn and Ardeth Bay crawl in behind him. Rick notices a shaft of light, high above him, shooting through a small hole in the ceiling and stopping against a wall next to one of those mirror disks. O'Connell aims his gun, and fires. The bullet strikes the disk's pedestal, spinning the mirror into the shaft of light, And **WHAM**! The shaft of light hits the disk and quickly bounces around the room from one disk to another until the whole chamber is lit up. It's an enormous treasure chamber. Filled to overflowing. Everything sparkles and shines. The wealth of Egypt. O'Connell, Jonathan, Evelyn and Ardeth Bay are speechless.

That's when the two mummified Priest-mummies walk in."Who the hell are these guys?"

"..Priests. Imhotep's Priests."

O'Connell pulls the elephant gun out of his gunny-sack."I never killed a priest before."

"They are evil, cursed, they matter not."

"Well, okay then." O'Connell fires the elephant gun, smoke and flame shoot out and blasts one of the mummies blowing it's upper torso clean off. O'Connell pumps the gun, the huge spent cartridge flips through the air. He fires again and blasts the other mummy, blows this one's torso clean off as well. The smoke clears. The two sets of legs keep walking forward, unaffected by the loss of their upper torsos.

O'Connell can't believe it."Oh come on, gimme a break here." And then the disemboweled upper torsos start to move, turning over and crawling towards them, who start to back away.

Imhotep turns from the altar as he hears more gunshots echoing out of the passageways. He angrily reaches into another of Anck-su-namun's canopic jars, pulls out her crusty liver and crushes it to dust, then quickly starts reading a passage from the Book and blows the dust down a passageway. **"Kill them! Kill them all! And bring me the Book Of The Living!"**

A dusty breeze blows into the chamber as O'Connell, Evelyn, Jonathan and Ardeth Bay back away from the mummy pieces. The floor where they were just standing suddenly starts to move. Two more mummies slowly dig their way up out of the floor. More mummies start coming out of the walls and crawling out of the piles of gold. All the mummies head for them. O'Connell lifts the elephant gun.

Ardeth Bay stops him. "My turn."

Ardeth Bay opens up with the Lewis gun. Blasting the hell out of the mummies. They keep on coming. Even more now. O'Connell opens fire with the elephant gun, pumping and firing as all four people back away and haul-ass. The mummies and mummy pieces follow them into the passageway. Then Beni creeps into the chamber. He stares in wonder at all the treasure. Then falls backwards into a pile of jewels and rolls about.

Rose-wakes up, naked with only Imhotep's cloak over her and lying chained to the top of the altar. She blink!, then turns her head, and looks right into the rotted face of Nefertari's corpse. Rose screams.

The elephant gun fires, blasting flame and smoke right into the lens. O'Connell, Jonathan, Evelyn and Ardeth Bay race down a passageway, a dozen mummies striding after them."This whole place is comin, alive!"

They race around a corner. More mummies. They race around another corner. More mummies. Onward they come. Methodical. Relentless. Boxing them in. O'Connell and Ardeth Bay firing as they go. Ardeth Bay goes empty."

"I'm out." He throws the machine-gun down and they all race into a small chamber. The lower half of the giant statue of Horus stands in the middle of the chamber.

"There he is!" They run up to the base of the statue,"Hello Horus old boy."

O'Connell looks back at the mummies coming down the passageway. He reaches into his gunny-sack and pulls out a stick of dynamite. Ardeth Bay taps him on the shoulder."Allow me."

O'Connell hands him the dynamite and a match, then turns to look at the statue. Ardeth Bay reaches forward and strikes the match off O'Connell's stubbly face. Rick yelps. Ardeth Bay lights the dynamite and throws it down the passageway. They all hit the deck as the dynamite explodes. Ripping apart the creatures, causing a cave-in and sealing the passageway with rock and dirt. Now there's only one way out, another dark, creepy passageway.

Chained tight to the top of the altar, Rose hopelessly struggles to free herself. She stops as the Priest mummies start surrounding the altar. Rose is horrified as the hideous mummies kneel down and begin to chant, which now sounds even more horrific due to the lack of tongues, jaws and mouths in the room. Imhotep steps up carrying the black Book Of The Dead. His hand reaches out and lovingly caresses Nefertari's decayed cheek.

O'Connell, Evy and Jonathan are digging away at the seams of the secret compartment, it starts to give. And that's when Ardeth Bay spots another group of rotting mummies coming down the dark passageway, heading right for them. O'Connell looks up."These guys just don't quit."

Ardeth Bay grabs the elephant gun and a handful of shells and runs off towards the mummies."Keep digging!"

O'Connell, Jonathan and Evelyn redouble their efforts, pulling harder on the seam. The compartment starts to loosen. About to give. The last time this happened, salt acid sprayed out, Evy remembers. Though they keep tugging as the tension mounts... And that's when a skeletal hand bursts up out of the ground and grabs O'Connell's ankle. Several more moldy hands burst up out of the ground. Rick, Evy and Jonathan struggle with the mummies as they crawl up out of the dirt floor. One of the mummies violently shoves Evelyn and O'Connell away. Another grabs Jonathan by the throat and starts to strangle him. A third mummy grabs at the secret compartment and pulls hard. An intense burst of acid sprays out of the seam and hits all three of the mummies. The one strangling Jonathan gets it in the back and drops him. All three mummies melt horribly.

Imhotep begins to read from The Book Of The Dead. A large swirling hole starts to open in the detritus bog. Rose's eyes widen in amazement and horror.

Ardeth Bay blasts away at the oncoming mummies. Over at the base of the statue, O'Connell, Evelyn and Jonathan pull an ornate chest out of the secret compartment. O'Connell rips off the lid, reaches inside and pulls out a heavy burlap bag. He, Evy and Jonathan exchange nervous, excited looks. Then he reaches into the bag and slowly pulls out the solid gold Book Of The Living- golden light reflects off their faces as they stare at it in wonder. The elephant gun goes empty. Ardeth Bay takes it by the barrel and wades into the remaining mummies swinging."Save the girl! Kill the creature!"

The mummies quickly overwhelm and start to tear him apart. Rick lights the last stick of dynamite and throws it against the far wall. He, Jonathan and Evelyn hit the deck."That's the last one, we better get lucky." The wall blows. Debris collapses, but now here's a hole for them to get out. Rick, Evy and Jonathan race out through the hole just as the remaining mummies enter the chamber.

Outside, Beni staggers across the sand with a saddlebag filled with treasure. He throws it over the rear of a camel. Starts to climb up but hesitates. Looking back at the temple door he licks his lips. And then his greed gets the better of him and he quickly climbs down and scurries back towards the door.

Imhotep reads from the Book. The rotten Priest-mummies rock back and forth, chanting. Rose struggles. Then suddenly, the strange mist wafts up out of the swirling hole and over to the sacred jars, it passes through them and into Rose. Rose jerks as though she's been electrified. The mist passes through her and into Nefertari's body. The chanting Priest, swirling hole, wafting mist and Imhotep's readings reach a crescendo. Nefertari's crusty eyelids suddenly pop open. Rose stares at her in disbelief. Nefertari's rotted head turns and looks at Rose with empty sockets. Rose freaks out and struggles wildly, then she notices Imhotep holding the ancient sacrificial knife."With your death, my love and I will be invincible!"

He raises it up over Rose's chest, about to plunge it down. Rose's eyes widen in horror and that's when O'Connell, Evy and Jonathan burst in. Imhotep spins around and faces them. Jonathan beams as he holds up the golden Book Of The Living."I found it, Rose! I found it."

"Please. Shut-up and get me off of here!"

O'Connell grabs an ancient sword out of a statue's hand, jumps up onto a gravestone and leaps out over the Priest. The Priest-mummies stop chanting and the mist vanishes as Imhotep steps forward. O'Connell strikes the sacrificial knife out of his hand; Imhotep bellows a command. The Priest stand up, swords and knives in hand, they attack O'Connell."We must open the book, Jonathan! open the book! That's the only way to kill him!" Evelyn bellows to Jonathan.

O'Connell racks and chops at the attacking Priest-mummies, fighting his way to Rose. The skeletal creatures wildly swing their swords, trying to stab O'Connell. Evelyn and Jonathan fumbles with the book, struggling to open it, they can't."I can't open it! It's locked or something!"

O'Connell cuts two of the mummies in half, then swings his sword down at Rose, CLANG! One chain breaks free. Jonathan spots a series of solid gold, four-sided locks along the binder. It hits him like lightning, as he turns to Evy beside him,"We need the key!"

Imhotep grins, then grabs the key hanging from a chain around his neck, rips it off and shoves it into his pocket. He picks up the sacrificial sword and heads for Jonathan."What do I do, Evy!? What do I do!?"

"We read the inscription on the cover!"

O'Connell swings his sword down again, CLANG! Rose now has one hand and one leg free. More mummies attack O'Connell force him back. Jonathan quickly starts translating the cover inscription, but his Ancient Egyptian is clearly awful.

"Keetash-something, naraba-something." Jonathan starts to backpedal through the cemetery, with Evelyn close beside him, clutching the golden book; wide-eyed, as Imhotep moves in on him."Ebarra im hatu Kashka ummmmm." Evelyn struggles as Jonathan trips and falls on his ass as Imhotep charges foreword. O'Connell slashes another chain there is only one more left holding Rose.

Jonathan sits up and Evy quickly looks back at the cover."Rasheem Aaaaa ANUBIS!"

Imhotep raises the sacrificial sword, about to kill Evy and Jonathan. And that's when the giant statue of Anubis suddenly crashes through the wall, shades of Ray Harryhausen. Only better. The god of Deaths, horrible, decrepit stone face stares angrily down.

Jonathan stares back."Oh boy!" O'Connell decapitates a mummy and looks up at Anubis."This just keeps gettin, better and better."

Imhotep leaves Jonathan and Evelyn and heads for the giant statue. O'Connell leaps over and with one last swing of the sword, frees Rose from her chains. More Priest-mummies attack, forcing him away. Evy rushes over to Rose as she jumps off the altar, wrapping Imhoteps robe around her and they start to head for O'Connell, a skeletal hand grabs her! She spins around. It's Nefertari's rotted corpse; Rose and Evelyn react. Imhotep looks up at Anubis, points to O'Connell, and in Ancient Egyptian commands him to attack. Anubis moves for O'Connell, stomping over mausoleums and through the detritus moat on his way.

O'Connell quickly backs away."Do something, Jonathan! Kill it!"

"You have got to be joking?" He look at him wide eyed.

Evy and Rose are backing away from Nefertari. "Finish the inscription, idiot!" Evelyn snaps. "Oh."

Nefertari grabs at Rose. She fends her off as best she can with Evelyns help. Jonathan quickly looks back at the hieroglyphs on the book cover, fumbling badly under the pressure.

"Ummm, Hootash im ... Hootash im now what is this last symbol here?"

Evelyn says,"What's it look like!?"

Nefertari grabs Rose by the throat, Evy tries to pull her strong skeletal hands off Roses neck. The statue of Anubis corners O'Connell, reaches down and grabs him with it's massive talons. O'Connell hacks away at it. Jonathan stares at the inscription, slightly oblivious.

"It's an Anck symbol, with two little squiggly lines above it, and a bird, a stork! on either side," Evy struggles to remember while trying to help Rose.

As Rose is being strangled by Nefertari, Evy smiles as she suddenly remembers "Ah! Ah! Ahmenophus!"

"Yes,...I see." The talons lift O'Connell up and start to crush him.

"Hootash im Ahmenophus!"

The giant statue of Anubis instantly freezes in it's tracks and petrifies. It's off balance and it starts to fall as O'Connell slides free of it's talons. Evelyn and Rose shoves Nefertari away, Nefertari looks up and opens her fetid mouth to scream just as Anubis crashes down on top of her, smashing her to powder and driving her into the ground. Imhotep shrieks in rage and horror, then turns and angrily heads for Jonathan. Jonathan, sitting on his ass, quickly backpedals on his hands and heels. Rick leaps to his feet, sword in hand and runs for Imhotep. Imhotep grabs Jonathan, lifts him up, rips the golden Book Of The Living out of his hand and pins him to a wall. O'Connell runs up and swings his sword at Imhotep, **WAP**! And slices Imhotep's 'right arm off. It drops to the ground, still clutching The Book Of The Living. Imhotep drops Jonathan and spins around, facing O'Connell.

Rick grins."Okay pal, let's see how tough you are without your right arm."

Imhotep grabs O'Connell with his left arm and throws him half way across the cemetery. O'Connell slams into a gravestone, bounces off and crashes to the ground. He shakes it off."Alright,...so he's left handed"

Imhotep is already striding towards him. Jonathan lifts up his hand, he has the key back! He smiles at Evelyn and Rose.

"I got it!" Evelyn and Rose run for Jonathan. O'Connell swings his sword and cleaves a big chunk of molten flesh right out of Imhotep's stomach. On the outside, Imhotep looks human, but on the inside he is still a rotten old mummy. Imhotep backhands O'Connell. Knocking him twenty feet back. Rick staggers to his feet. Imhotep is right there, clubbing him hard with his left arm. O'Connell spins through the air, slams into the side of a mausoleum. Imhotep approaches, rage in his eyes. Rick gets up, quickly pivots and hacks into Imhotep's head. Imhotep grins and punches Rick in the face. O'Connell is thrown back, pulling his sword with him. He bounces hard off the mausoleum and lands on his feet, totally beat-to-shit. Knees buckling, he can barely stand. Jonathan lifts up the heavy gold book, Imhotep's severed hand still clings to it. Jonathan and Rose cringe in disgust. Evelyn yanks it off, throws it away, then start furiously working the key into the series of locks, unlocking each of them.

Imhotep strides forward. O'Connell backs into the mausoleum, swings the sword, Imhotep tries to catch it, it cleaves through his palm and deeply imbeds itself into his forearm. No matter, Imhotep rips the sword away from O'Connell and casually flings it away. The golden Book Of The Living opens with a hiss. Jonathan holds it tight as Evelyn quickly turns the heavy gold pages looking for something. Rose huddles behind Jonathan, holding his shirt tightly in her hands. Rick turns to run, but Imhotep grabs him by the throat and lifts him off his feet. O'Connell hangs there, a dazed mess. Imhotep grins, says something in Ancient Egyptian, then starts to strangle O'Connell. Rick starts to chokes, he seems to be about to die when Evelyn turns and faces Imhotep and reads an inscription:"Kadeesh mal! Kadeesh mal! Pared oos! PARED OOS!

Imhotep pivots and looks at Evelyn, a look of sheer terror on his face. Then he looks over at the detritus bog. Which starts to bubble and shift. The swirling hole begins to open. And then suddenly the spirits of the Egyptian gods waft out of the black bog and swirl around the Priest-mummies. The mummies all collapse and turn to dust. And then the spirits attack Imhotep. Lifting him and O'Connell up into the air.

Imhotep let's go of Rick, who falls to the ground. Evelyn, Rose and Jonathan fearfully stumble away from the spirits, Jonathan trips over Roses feet and falls accidentally throwing The Book of The Living into the detritus bog. Evelyn watches as the golden book sinks into the black putrescence. Jonathan looks like he's about to cry. Rose has tear streaks going down her face. Ten feet off the ground, the spirits swirl around Imhotep's body, twisting it and turning it and slowly shrivelling it.

Accompanied by strange flashing lights, after one last huge flash, accompanied by a blast of wind, Imhotep is spit out and thrown to the floor. He staggers to his feet, he looks perfectly normal. His body is completely intact.

O'Connell swings his sword. Imhotep jerks back. The sword scrapes Imhotep's chest, a swath of blood appears across Imhotep's chest where the sword hit him. Imhotep touches the blood on his chest, amazed and horrified. He's mortal. O'Connell runs Imhotep through with the sword and shoves him backwards. Imhotep stumbles back and falls into the detritus bog. The sword still in his stomach. Evelyn, Rose and Jonathan run up next to O'Connell. They watch as Imhotep gently sinks into the fetid swamp, slowly dying. And then, just before his head goes under, Imhotep looks up at them, grins broadly, and says something in Ancient Egyptian. Evelyn translates:"Death is only the beginning." Imhotep's grinning face vanishes under the black bile Beni staggers across a chamber, straining under the weight of another saddlebag filled with treasure. He spots a large, ornate staff sticking out of a wall. He throws the saddlebag over the staff and collapses against the wall. Exhausted. And then the weight of the treasure pulls the staff down. Which starts a massive aural chain-reaction. Beni backs away from the wall, wide-eyed, filled with fear. All the walls start to sink into the ground. Driven by tons of pouring sand. Beni turns and hauls-ass out of the chamber.

O'Connell, Evelyn, Rose and Jonathan look around as all the walls start to descend. Rick grabs Evelyn's hand."C'mon!" He pulls her forward and all four of them race past sinking pillars. They duck as they run into a descending doorway.

Beni scampers down a passageway, the ceiling getting lower and lower until he has to crouch. And then he has to stick the torch between his teeth and crawl on his hands and knees.

O'Connell, Rose, Evelyn and Jonathan crouch-run into the treasure chamber. Rose skids to a stop. Looks in wonder at all the treasure. As sand rains down on them. Jonathan grabs her again and quickly pulls her through the mounds of treasure towards a sinking doorway on the far side of the room. The sound of the sinking walls is deafening.

Beni crouch-runs into the treasure chamber. O'Connell, Evelyn, Jonathan and Rose race past him. He joins them as they run up a staircase. heading for a descending doorway, which is already half gone, it's now only four feet high, now three feet high, now two feet. Jonathan and Rose dive through the narrow gap. Then Rick dives through, he spins around. Evelyn dives, but gets stuck in the middle, about to get cut in half. O'Connell grabs her arm and yanks her through in the nick of time. Beni reaches through the narrowing gap with his hand,"O'CONNELL!"

O'Connell grabs it, but it's too late. Beni yanks his hand back just as the top of the door crashes to the floor. Sealing him in. Beni quickly crawls back down the stairs as the ceiling slams down behind him. He stands up and looks around with his diminishing torch. All the doorways finish closing. There's no way out. He's trapped. And then he hears something, and turns around. Over in the corner, a scarab-beetle stares at him, chittering. Beni waves his flickering torch at the scarab and backs away."Go away!"

He stands in the middle of the treasure chamber as dozens upon dozens of scarabs boil up out of the floor around him. Beni is absolutely terrified. The scarabs start to move in. And that's when Beni's torch goes out. Pitch black. And then they hear Beni start screaming in horror and pain. And the scarabs chittering hungrily.

The temple collapses as Rick, Evelyn, Jonathan, Rose and a pack of stray camels race through the ruins. A sinking crevice drops out right behind them. Chasing them out through the front gates. The whole place rumbles ominously. They make it down the ramp as more ruins crash down behind them. A massive cloud of sand and dust billows out over the wall and into the air. Everyone and all the stray camels race out into the desert...

Rick, Evelyn, Rose and Jonathan stand in the middle of the plateau, surrounded by stray camels. They stare off at the sandy, dusty, volcano as it continues to rumble-ominously.

"Well,...I guess we go home empty handed." Jonathan states sorely.

"Guess I won that bet, huh. Jonathan." Rose gives Jonathan a small smile, as she sees the looks that Evelyn and Rick are sharing.

O'Connell looks at Evelyn,"Wouldn't say that."

Evelyn returns the look, and then she wraps-her arms around his neck and kisses him. O'Connell returns it. Jonathan just rolls his eyes, snorts in disgust and climbs up onto a camel. Rose gently lays a hand on her abdomen, with tears falling from her cheeks, she gets onto the same camel as Jonathan. When the kiss is-over, Rick and Evelyn share a smile, then O'Connell leaps up into the saddle, reaches down, grabs Evelyn's hand and pulls her up behind him. Evelyn wraps her arms around his waist. O'Connell and Jonathan slap the reins.

"TUK-TUK-TUK!" The camels start to move out. In the saddlebag behind Evelyn, hidden under the closed back flap, we can see that it's filled with Beni's stolen treasure. O'Connell, Evelyn, Rose and Jonathan ride off into the sunset.


End file.
